Infinite Bliss
by glossyybabie
Summary: Eli lived a pretty normal life, that was until she discovered the existence of vampires. Now she has to face her own demons, and come to terms with her new relationship to the very people her friends feared. (Aro/Caius/Marcus/OC)
1. Chapter 1

I instantly felt an ache in my heart and I cried out in pain, my hand clasped to my chest. The three men in front of me looked on with some level of concern, but their expressions were incredibly hard to read. Gradually, the voices surrounding me became increasingly muffled and my vision became a blur. Just as my knees gave in to my weight, I felt a pair of arms surround me. I could faintly hear his voice, which was in a somewhat reassuring tone, but it was difficult to tell. Looking up, my eyes locked on a pair of deep red eyes as his words came into focus.

"Eliana, it is okay, you are safe, no one will hurt you…"

A terrified female voice startled me, sounding angered at whatever it was that was going on around me.

"Let her go Aro, please, just leave her alone!"

It was at that point where it felt like reality was fading away, like I was slowly falling away from existence entirely. The voices became much more alarmed than before, however my body simply too exhausted to notice.

* * *

My eyes remained closed as my eyelids felt too heavy to lift. While my body began to slip back into consciousness, I could hear a whispered conversation in the room.

"How long has she been like this for?" a familiar voice asked. It took me a few seconds, but not long, to realise this was Alice's.

"About 16 hours. We have been by her side the entire time, however she has not so much as stirred." Now this voice was definitely new to me. It had a slight feeling of anger to it, but it was somehow comforting.

Painfully, my eyes fluttered open, and my gaze landed on three male figures stood above me. I instantly identified them as the men I saw in the throne room, which was beyond confusing. What were they doing here? I'd been told of the Volturi leaders had no respect for human life whatsoever.

The raven-haired man knelt beside me, his hand held in mine. All of the muscles in my body urged me to pull away from him, but his eyes just seemed so familiar to me. It was then that I recognised them from the throne room, and I realised it was Aro.

I glanced over to the left of him where my gaze locked on the other two men, both with concerned expressions on their faces. I thought these people were supposed to be cold and unforgiving, but apparently not?

"Finally you've woken up, _il mio amore, we were terribly worried about you_," Aro spoke.

I glanced up to Alice, who was stood at the end of the bed, and gave her a puzzled look. She simply smiled, and said "We're glad you're okay."

'Okay' was an overstatement to say the least. I felt a pain surging up and down my body, and my head throbbed achingly. Surely this couldn't be happening. Who were these people to show so much concern about my wellbeing? I barely even knew who they were, and I only knew one of their names. Fed up of whatever it was that was going on, I gathered up all the energy I had left in me and attempted to sit myself up, but my head was only able to lift a few inches away from the pillow beneath it before it fell back.

"I would not bother with your feeble attempts at sitting up. You went through a lot yesterday, and using up any more of your energy will only cause you more pain."

My eyes glanced up to meet another pair of red eyes, belonging to a man with blonde hair and an air of anger about him.

"Can we get you anything?" Aro asked.

I was incredibly confused at this point, but he'd reminded me that I hadn't eaten in almost 24 hours. I opened my mouth to ask, but closed it again as it didn't feel appropriate.

"Sorry who are you guys?" I asked. My throat was incredibly dry so my voice came out as a quivered whisper.

Aro looked at the other two leaders before turning his head back to face me.

"I do believe we have already met, my dear, although I doubt you remember. I am-"

I cut him off. "Aro, yeah I know. But who are the other two?"

The blonde-haired man grinned before responding to my question. "My name is Caius, and this is Marcus" he said, gesturing to the other man standing beside him with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Okay," I replied. "But why am I here? Actually, here's a better question: why are you three here?"

"Yes, there is something we must explain to you, but it may take some time," Marcus began.

I sighed. "Well you might as well begin now, it's not as if I'm going anywhere like this."

Aro lightly nudged Marcus in the shoulder. "Maybe now isn't the time." He muttered, before turning to me, a smile playing on his lips.

I raised an eyebrow at him, giving him a quizzical look which he simply ignored. There was clearly something going on here, and I wasn't going to wait until I grow old and die to find out. I mean, in the space of less than 24 hours, I was immobilised in some stranger's bed and being cared for the Volturi kings. This was a weird, weird day.

"In that case, we will leave you to rest. The last thing we need is for your condition to worsen, _carissima_," Caius nodded with a slightly unnerving softness to his voice.

This was getting out of hand. My Italian may've been slightly rusty, but really? _Carissima_? If I was correct, that meant dearest. Was he really being serious? For heaven's sake, I barely knew these people. As far as I was concerned, the Volturi are a ruthless and unforgiving coven, to be avoided, as they were willing to do whatever it took to get what they wanted. And now, before my eyes, I was referred to as dearest? Wow, this whole vampire world was messed the hell up.

Apparently I'd been pondering this thought for longer than I'd realised, as all three men were giving me the same unreadable expressions. I assumed this was a look of concern? I mean, at this point, this entire scenario could've been in my head and I wouldn't have been surprised.

I was quick to snap out of whatever dazed state I was in, before replying with "I'm fine, you guys go."

Wow, why was I being so awkward suddenly?

With that, the three of them left without another word and closed the door gently behind them.

My attention quickly snapped to Alice, who seemed to be suppressing a laugh in the background. She clearly knew something I didn't, and I was willing to do whatever it took to get her to spill.

"What's up with you?" I asked, which caused her to laugh hysterically. Now, there was _definitely_ something I didn't know.

"Nothing, nothing, I just-" Her sentence was quickly cut off by her laugh, which echoed through the dark, empty halls.

"I swear," I began, now attempting to suppress a giggle myself, "if you don't tell me what the fuck is going on, I'll-"

"You'll what? You can barely move Eli!" she interrupted, before completely losing control of her laughter again. My word, sometimes I don't know how I dealt with her and her child-like attitude to things. In all seriousness though, something was being held from me, and I wasn't going to rest until I found out what.

A few moments later, once Alice had regained some form of composure, she simply said "I'm really not in a place to tell you Eli, just trust me on this one, okay?"

To this I rolled my eyes, but still smiled lightly. I guessed I had to put two and two together and simply just wait for Aro or whoever to tell me what was going on here.

I closed my eyes and used the force of my weight to turn myself onto my side, but something just wasn't letting me sleep. Without warning, a sharp pain ran through my body, before disappearing and leaving me with an ache across all of my muscles, almost as if I had been covered from head to toe in bruises. The pain was too uncomfortable to sleep with, so I decided to take a shower in an attempt to distract myself from whatever had just happened.

I climbed out of bed to realise that I was still in the same outfit as before, but my shoes and jacket had been removed, and from looking around, taken away somewhere. Alice had left a few hours ago, so only I remained in the room and, in a struggle, I stumbled across the room to a large walk-in wardrobe with a wooden door. I assumed it would be empty, considering this room probably didn't belong to anybody, but to my surprise the clothing racks were completely filled with clothing in my style, and apparently my size. I hastily pulled down a white cropped t-shirt with some jeans and headed to the bathroom, before halting in my tracks. I didn't even know where the bathroom was, let alone if I was allowed to use it, but another wooden door on the other side of the room caught my attention so I hesitantly opened it. To be honest, I half expected to walk in to someone's actual bedroom, or worse, one of the Volturi kings', but fortunately this door led to a pristine white bathroom.

See, good thing about showers is they give you time to think. Where on earth was I? I mean, I gathered that I was still in Volterra, but how come I didn't remember anything? How did I even get here? I decided that the next time saw anyone, I wouldn't let them go before they explained themselves. Actually though, I was a human in fairness, and not only that, but I was also in a weak state, so I didn't really know how I was going to find out anything. But one thing was for certain: there was something I needed to know.

**Author's note: I rewrote this chapter a little just because I found so many mistakes and weird sentences, but it's mostly the same [8/5/19].  
So hey um, I got bored and decided to write this fanfic. I know, I know, there are already loads of stories like this because I'm just unoriginal aha, but I kinda just started writing this for myself more than anything. This story basically revolves around this girl Eliana, a human who discovers she's mated to the three Volturi kings. I hope you like it, and this is my first story so excuse any stupid typos or anything. I just hope you enjoy reading, and this doesn't completely flop aha :)  
Oh and before I forget, a quick word of warning, some of the language in this I wouldn't exactly call 'child friendly', so please be sensible. Also there might end up being a lil' bit of minor smut/violence, but only time will tell *hehe*. Enjoy reading, ily!**


	2. Chapter 2

A knock on the door startled me as I attempted to adjust the leather belt around my jeans. I'd been left in this room for over 24 hours now, and I'd be lying if I said it wasn't getting boring. I'd spent pretty much that entire morning going through the wardrobe in the room and choosing out outfits. How anyone knew exactly what clothing I wanted and what size I was confused me just a little, but I wasn't complaining. I'd recognised a few items that I'd been eyeing in the shops when I went the other week, and there was even a pair of shoes I wanted a while ago but couldn't afford. I just hoped that I hadn't stolen from a vampire with identical style to me, as that couldn't possibly end well for the human girl.

I opened the door and to my surprise a very tall, crimson-eyed man stood towering above me. _And it begins._

"The kings have summoned you in the throne room," he spoke with a deadpan tone.

"Do I really have to go?" I whined almost childlike before grinning at myself and my stupidity, "Surely they can wait for, like," I checked my watch "half an hour or so?"

This guy clearly looked bored as his face didn't remotely twitch despite my immaturity. Well that definitely cleared up one thing; don't ever apply for a job as a member of the Volturi guard.

He sighed dramatically before pulling a brass pocket watch out from his grey robes and studying it intently.

"I'll give you three minutes, milady. The Masters really don't take well to tardiness," he muttered. Poor guy, wow, his job looked boring.

"Fine," I gave in before turning back around to him and adding "what's your name by the way?"

"Felix," he responded simply.

_So much for having a friendly conversation_. After a few more seconds of painfully awkward silence, I decided to close the door and make him wait outside. I briskly hurried over to the full length mirror and finished adjusting my outfit, before ruffling my hair out. Unfortunately, I hadn't had the chance to re-dye it for months so the bleached blonde colour was fading and my darker roots were beginning to show through, but I couldn't care less. Besides, who was I trying to impress?

Grabbing my phone and stuffing it in the back pocket of my jeans, I left the room, closed the door, and began following Felix down the dimly lit corridor. After we had walked for several minutes, I looked down to realise I wasn't wearing shoes. _Shit_. The soles of my socks, which had been perfectly white, were now covered in some kind of grey dust. One of my biggest pet peeves was wearing white socks around as they always got destroyed, and this completely ruined my mood (not that I was in a particularly good mood to begin with). Deciding not to make a big deal out of it, I resisted the urge to turn around to grab my Nikes and continued a few paces behind Felix. I really didn't want to piss him off any more than I had to, as that guy was so tall he could kill me with a simple tap, and I had to be at least two feet shorter than him.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous. The last time I'd gone down to see these people, I'd woken up several hours later in some stranger's bed, completely immobilised. And as if that wasn't enough, I didn't even have any of the Cullens with me. Speaking of the Cullens, where were they? It wasn't like them to leave without explanation, and I'd only seen Alice a few hours ago. This situation was going to be tough to deal with on my own. Not only was I slightly creeped out by these Volturi guys, and for good reason, but I also had a habit of causing awkward conversations. Maybe that was my super-rare vampire-y ability: debilitating awkwardness.

After walking for about fifteen minutes or so, we finally arrived at a large set of wooden doors. Eerie silence filled the halls, and at first I questioned if I was even in the right place. I couldn't believe how long it took just to get here, but in fairness almost everyone around the place did have creepy vampiric speed. Felix knocked a few times before opening the door and holding it open for me to walk through under his arm. At least the floors in this room were clean, so my socks could just be salvageable.

Once, I stepped in, the door quickly slammed shut, which caused me to jump out of my skin. If there was one thing I hated more than anything, it was jump scares. A quiet chuckle sounded behind me, and I turned around to where my eyes met the three kings. _Did they really just laugh at me? How rude!_

Aro was sat on the middle throne with his raven hair flowing down to his shoulders, holding a book which he was quick to close and place on his arm rest. He wore a spotless black suit, which emphasized the colour of his crimson eyes that appeared to light up when his gaze fixed on me. Timidly, I looked down at the floor and reminded myself of my lack of footwear, causing a blush to spread across my cheeks. Ugh, why was I like this? This was just one of many problems of being a human in a world of vampires.

"Ah, my dear Eliana, what a pleasant surprise," he exclaimed rather joyously, gesturing me forward happily with a single pale finger. This forced a smile on my lips as I was honestly terrible at keeping a straight face.

On his left was Caius' throne, and I hadn't even noticed him there until he glanced at my bare feet before nudging Aro and whispering something in his ear, causing them both to laugh just as Aro clasped his hand to his mouth. Was I really that funny? As far as I was concerned, I wasn't exactly a stroke of comedic genius, I just lacked in common sense.

Marcus had now noticed too, but he barely reacted at all compared to his brothers. So apparently the absence of my shoes was more obvious than I first thought. This was going to be a long day, considering I didn't even know where my room, or whoever's room, was, so it wasn't even possible for me to head back on my own and hide. I just hoped that I wasn't going against some kind of vampire law against not wearing shoes.

"Did you forget your shoes by any chance?" Caius asked, struggling to keep a serious appearance. I thought he was supposed to be the harshest guy around and had a bad temper, but it seemed I was wrong. Maybe behind closed doors, instead of formulating some intricate battle plans or shit like that, he just sat and poked fun at his enemies. That thought caused me to embarrassingly laugh out loud, but I was quick to straighten my face.

I looked at each of them in turn, trying to come up with some kind of valid explanation that made me sound slightly less stupid than I seemed.

"I just didn't think shoes would suit this outfit," I paused, before adding, "your corridor floors are filthy by the way." I was absolutely exasperated with myself at this point. _Just shut up Eli, you weirdo, and stop making things worse for yourself._

Aro chuckled to himself quietly, clapping his hands together. "Well it's lovely to have you _il mio amore._" I guessed they were at it again with their weird flirty Italian. Somehow though, something inside me liked this attention. For heaven's sake, I made myself cringe with that thought.

"Please, do take a seat," he stood to the side and politely offered me his throne.

This was definitely some kind of ridiculous prank right? Maybe these guys had gotten bored of sitting here and giving orders for so many millennia that they had taken up a new hobby of manipulating people into committing crimes. On the one hand, I wanted to deny his offer and continue this conversation standing. However, I highly doubted that was an option, and I really didn't want to anger him, not without socks in anyway. Besides, maybe he was just being nice. With that, I hesitantly edged over to his throne. God, why was I so nervous? I realised I must've gone so red at this point from pointless embarrassment.

Once I had reached two or so steps away from Aro, he took my hand and sat me down where he had just been sitting. I half expected the seat to still be warm until I remembered that vampires don't have body heat. To think some of my closest friends were these people was crazy.

Marcus and Caius turned themselves slightly so they were facing me and Aro had taken my previous place in front of the thrones. This caused me to blush even more than before and I felt my skin heat up. I absolutely hated having this much attention on me, and it only reminded me of school when my teachers would pick on me for being the shy one and the whole class would turn and stare. I brushed the soles of my feet off with the back of my hand and faced Aro who was stood before me.

"Finally we can meet properly Eliana, and I do hope you feel better than you did when we last saw you," he spoke with his same feather-soft voice.

"Yeah I'm okay thanks." I responded. _Nice one, give them another awkward, vague answer why don't you?_

Marcus' voice sounded from my right. "We're very glad that's the case. We were all very worried about you _il mio amore._"

"Yes, about that, there is something we must speak about Eliana, and I feel it is something you should know as soon as possible" Aro's face had become slightly more serious than it was earlier, yet looking at him seemed to reassure me in some way.

"You see, your little incident earlier was no coincidence," he began "but instead solely due to your presence with us."

"The truth of it is, _tesoro,_" Marcus continued, "there are bonds that exist between beings. These bonds, or ties, are invisible but connect beings together based on how they interrelate with one another. I have the ability to see these bonds that connect people's very souls together, and I can confirm that there are ties connecting you with each of us," he breathed heavily, "meaning that you are destined to be with us."

I sat there in absolute shock. At this point I was really just waiting for me to be detained for breaking some ludicrous crime these people had set me up for. Who did they think they were, talking about 'ties' and 'destinies'? This had to be a joke, it just had to. I looked up from my lap, expecting the three of them to be sniggering in the background at this point, but to my surprise Caius and Marcus had stood up from their thrones and were kneeling rather close to me with almost concerned expressions on their faces. I didn't think kings were supposed to kneel for anyone. Then it hit me: maybe this was what Alice had been laughing at earlier. The only remotely logical explanation for all of this unexplainable supernatural weirdness was that I had been set up by the Cullens and Volturi, only for a tape of this moment to be played at my 18th birthday, as if I hadn't embarrassed myself enough times already leading up to this point.

My mouth opened, and I planned to laugh, but instead only a pathetic whimper came out. To this, the three kings looked at each other with uttermost confusion, before their gazes all returned back to me. Oh my word, were they being serious? Was this really not a joke?

"S-sorry, what?" I finally managed to utter. I'd also apparently lost all ability to form basic sentences.

"I understand this is a lot to take in Eliana, and we would never mean to overwhelm you," Caius reassured.

"Wait, so you're not joking? This isn't some kind of, I don't know, messed up idea of fun?" My mind was struggling to comprehend what the hell it was I was witnessing.

Aro shook his head in response, and cupped my hands in his. These guys were either really good liars, or this was for real. But, how though? This didn't even make any sense. Why would I, the boring human girl, be mated to a bunch of super-rich, super-hot vampire overlords? I could've sworn they already had mates in anyway. Besides, I had a boyfriend back home. Sure, he wasn't quite as hot as these guys were, but I was loyal, and I'd feel terrible if I just broke up with him to move to Italy to live with a bunch of vampire kings in their vampire castle. _Eli, you're getting away from yourself, and you're definitely not moving to Italy. Just breathe._

A smug smile tugged at the corner of Aro's lips before he continued. "And I know what you are thinking, but we were only married, and the legal paperwork is no longer even valid to this day. Once you arrived and Marcus confirmed our suspicions, we sent them away permanently."

Wow, it was as if he really did know what I was thinking. And only married? Was he being serious? They really just sent their wives, or ex wives, away? Just like that?

He pulled his hands away sharply. "Marriage did not mean as much to us as you may think, _piccola_. We have been around for many millennia after all."

Well that definitely answered one of my queries.

"So…" I murmured, "you guys are, like, my…"

"True mates, yes," Caius finished my sentence.

At this point, my breathing had become much more frantic as the news began to sink in. The room felt like it was spinning out of control, like all traces of sanity were fading away. A weight pulled down on my ribs as if I was being dragged closer and closer to the ground.

"It is okay, _carissima_, just breathe, I know this is a lot to take in at once," a muffled voice spoke, but I was too delirious to consciously process what was happening. This couldn't be possible, it just couldn't, it didn't make any logical sense…

More voices spoke, but they quickly became inaudible to me. The feeling of suffocation within my body was nauseating and I wanted to be sick there and then. My nails dug deeper into the arm rests while my body began to shake as if I'd been plunged into freezing water. My eyes formed a hazy image of the three figures stood in front of me as they murmured something incoherent between each other. Something uncontrollable within me wanted to reach out for them, to hold onto them as if they were the only ones who could make the pain go away, but the sane part of my brain forced me to stay tensed exactly where I was. However, the agonising pain only grew, pulling me away and isolating me from reality.

After a few moments, I gathered up all the strength I had to force myself onto my feet, which caused a sharp pain to ring through my legs. A hand reached out to grab my arm before I stumbled down the steps but I reluctantly pulled myself away, pushing at Aro as he stepped to the side so I could run for the door. I had never felt like this before, never this taken over with emotion, and I'd never been known to react like this to any situation. I just needed to leave. Nothing within me could stand being in the room with them for any longer.

**Author's note: That's it for this chapter I guess. It's a little longer than the last one, and I hope you're somewhat enjoying reading this, because otherwise that does kinda make things awkward. For the next chapter or two, instead of continuing with the linear plot, I'll sorta be doing a flashback type thing to fill you in on everything that brought Eli to this moment. Please feel free to leave reviews, as I love reading your feedback. Until next time!  
Rewritten [12/5/20]**


	3. Chapter 3

**October 14****th**** 1995:****  
**Eli was stood in the airport wrapped in a blanket she'd slept with on the plane, gripping on to her mother's hand tightly with one hand, and dragging her pink suitcase along with the other. She had been told that she was going to make a new best friend and that it they were going to have a fun holiday in Phoenix, but Eli was stubborn, and not only was she stubborn, but she was also terrified. She'd never been any good at making friends in the past, considering how a girl ran away from her crying when she tried to make a friend at five years old.

Her mother had been braiding her hair on the plane ride, which left her brunette locks bouncing behind her, tied with yellow ribbons she was determined to throw away when she wasn't looking.

From across the arrivals lounge, her mother had spotted someone, and instantly jumped to her feet before picking Eli up and carrying her over to where another woman was stood. She was about the same height as her mother was, and they looked pretty similar despite from the fact that this woman had blue eyes like Eli's. With the woman stood another girl who looked a little older than Eli, but she seemed more nervous than she was somehow.

A few minutes through their parents' excited chatter, during which Eli and the other girl both timidly stared at their feet, both girls were sent to 'go and play together'. Sometimes Eli really didn't understand her mother, as she of all people should've known just how shy she was. Regardless, she was determined to attempt to make a friend. The girls stared at each other before looking at the ground, both too nervous to be the first to talk, until Eli finally spoke.

"Hello." She said sheepishly, still staring at the ground.

"Hey," Bella replied, before adding "you're voice is cool."

"Really?" she asked with a hint of excitement in her voice. This girl seemed so nice.

"Yeah! I just wish I could sound as cool as that!"

"Do you wanna be friends?" Eli asked, hoping for a better answer than crying and running.

"Of course!" Bella responded excitedly, before pulling a colouring book out from her backpack and offering to share her coloured pencils.

Throughout the course of that week, the girls had become best friends, and were always spending hours playing together. They found that they both had the same love for reading, and would spend ages talking about their favourite books. Eli had finally made a friend, and she and Bella were determined to stay that close 'forever and ever'. They did have a year age difference, but it didn't seem to matter at all to them. Eli never had any siblings, and neither did Bella, so it could've been easy to assume they were just sisters by the way they acted towards each other. When they were eventually forced to part, Bella and Eli promised to stay in contact and make their mothers let them call each other every day, which they did, for a while in anyway.

**May 24****th**** 2005:**  
Eli was absolutely buzzing with excitement. As it was the Easter holidays and she had a two week break from school, her parents had agreed to let her travel to Forks to visit Bella by herself. The two of them texted every once in a while, but it had been a few years since they last saw each other. All she was told was that she would be staying in a house somewhere in Forks with Bella and some of her friends, which made her just a little nervous. This nervous feeling was oddly similar to the one she felt when she met Bella when she was seven, but more than anything she couldn't wait to have the best two weeks ever.

When she arrived at the airport, she was met by Bella, who had honestly had such a glow up in comparison to her. Eli had finally reached the same height as her, but Bella was still slimmer, and her hair was such a gorgeous length and colour. With her was some other stern-looking man, who she assumed to be Bella's boyfriend Edward. In his defense, he was absolutely stunning, with his almost translucent pale skin, his auburn hair, and his eyes which somehow had a mysterious golden shimmer to them.

It was on this trip that she discovered a lot about Bella and her friends. Firstly, and probably most shockingly of all, everyone except Bella was a vampire apparently. When she first found out, Eli laughed at this, imagining it to be a late April fool's Day prank. However she couldn't be more wrong, as it was Bella who finally managed to convince her by showing her how their skin looked in the sunlight. Bella took Edward's hand and led him outside, with Eli following close behind. At first she almost panicked, as she'd always been told that vampires burn in sunlight (that was what happened in every vampire movie she ever saw in anyway), but to her surprise their skin was absolutely magnificent, scattering the light in tiny fragments, as if they were genuinely made from diamonds.

Secondly, Eli was quickly made aware that they were vegetarian vampires, which again made her laugh. It was then explained to her that the group, who were apparently known as the Cullen family, would never try to drink her blood. Funnily enough, this thought hadn't even crossed her until this point, but then again it did make a lot of sense. Any normal vampire who drinks from humans would've _surely_ jumped at the opportunity while one wandered into their house.

During her time with the Cullens, she became close friends with each of the Cullens, although some of them did take longer to adjust to having a second human around, especially Rosalie. Although Eli did feel a little out of place at times, Bella was always there to reassure her, and it wasn't long until she was as close to the group as Bella was. Understandably, all of them were a little wary of her knowledge of vampires and their existence, but Eli was always quite persuasive, and absolutely swore on her life that absolutely no one would ever know about them. Not only was this for their safety, but for her own as well.

The entire group was absolutely devastatingly gorgeous, even Bella, which made her feel just a little uncomfortable at times, but this didn't seem to bother her that much. Either way they were such interesting people to be around, often making fun of her British accent, and it meant that she and Bella could choose their own meals every day as they were the only ones who ate. What did annoy her a little though was the fact that they all absolutely hated her music playlists, which she learnt after she played some random rap music out loud from her speakers and they all yelled at her to turn it off, so instead she usually ended up listening to whatever classical music ended up being played on the piano by Edward.

As soon as she arrived back home in England, she quickly booked herself another visit that summer, and from then on Eli often spent time at the Cullens' at every opportunity she got. Her parents did try to ask her about how her holiday had gone, but Eli just told them that the Cullens were such fun people, and that they had taken care of her well. It wasn't like the whole vampire bit was particularly important in anyway.

**March 2****nd**** 2006:**  
Eli had only just hopped out of her taxi at the Cullen's house before Alice took her arm and dragged her into their car. She hadn't even had a chance to take her suitcase indoors, but as soon as she mentioned it, Alice grabbed it from her and hastily tossed it into the boot.

"Alice, can't I just-"

"Just get in Eli, I'll explain later. This is urgent," she interrupted impatiently.

Eli spotted Bella in the passenger seat, looking the most distraught she's ever seen her. As soon as she hopped in and buckled her seat belt, Alice pounded her foot on the gas and the car sped off into the distance, leaving Eli gripping onto her seat at the back.

After a few minutes, she finally broke the silence.

"Can someone please just explain to me where it is we're going?"

Bella glanced at Alice, before turning to me. "Italy."

"Italy? W-why?" she asked in a frenzied shock.

"To save Edward."

"Edward? Why? Is he okay?"

Bella looked absolutely fed up of Eli's ridiculous questions, rolling her eyes and resting her head in her hand while she stared into the landscape speeding past the window, leaving Alice to answer all her questions.

"He's going to the Volturi. He wants to… to kill himself."

This came as a shock to her, for she knew just how much Bella adored him. In response, she leant over the back of Alice's seat and hissed to her "Why the fuck would he do that to Bella?"

"He thought Bella was dead. He only wanted to end his life too because the love of his life was gone."

While trying to process what on earth it was going on around them, all 3 of them stayed almost silent for the duration of their journey to Volterra. All Eli knew was that the Volturi were in charge, and they most definitely weren't to be messed with. The sheer strength of their powers and their hunger for more made them lethal apparently, and now it seemed she was going to go straight towards the danger _because that makes sense_.

Once they finally made it to the castle, Alice turned to where Eli was sat, and told her not to speak unless she was spoken to. However, little did she know that Alice had actually had visions of what was about to happen within those walls, and she knew exactly why she had brought Eli with them. Otherwise she would've left her to stay with the rest of the Cullens, but she was aware of her fate, and her true connection to the very vampires they feared.

**Author's note: I know I didn't include where she first meets the Volturi, but I thought that's a story for another time. Next chapter should go back to the normal chronological timeline. Sorry if this was kinda short, but I just didn't really go into much detail about anything that's happened to her so far.  
****Also, I kinda hope this story actually does okay because I'll write it either way, but I don't know if I should even bother publishing it unless people are enjoying it lmao. Anyways, thanks for reading, please feel free to leave a review because I love to hear your feedback, I hope you don't catch coronavirus, and I'll be back with chapter 4 soon hopefully, bye!**


	4. Chapter 4

_Author's note: Welcome back snacks. So school and my GCSEs have been cancelled *sarcastic cheer*, but it does mean that I'll be updating more, so with all that being said, enjoy chapter 4, ily!_

Somehow my legs didn't try and hold back at my painful attempt at running, as my mind was so determined to keep me going. Something inside me was desperate to escape from whatever I'd just been through. Fortunately for me, the corridors were pretty straight with very few turns, so I could easily run in one single direction for a few minutes. I frequently glanced over my shoulder, expecting someone to be trailing behind me, but my path was completely clear. It wasn't long at all before I'd lost all sense of direction, which wasn't at all helped by the lack of oxygen going to my brain. My momentum slowly came to a halt as I stopped running and hugged my knees, before leaning my back against the cold, hard wall and sliding down against it to the ground. My breathing quickly returned to its normal rate, and I leant my head back to stare at the ceiling.

A buzz sounded from my pocket, and I pulled my phone out to see a message from Bella.

_I'm really bored, and Emmett won't stop making cringey jokes about what I'd be like if I were a vampire. Help. _

This made me smile; it seemed funny to me how different our current priorities were, and how, while I was coming to terms with an eternity spent with apparently three mates in Italy, Bella was simply just trying to avoid losing her temper at Emmett.

I rubbed at my tired eyes and started typing.

_You're on your own with that one, have fun._

_Ugh just get back soon so I don't have to deal with this for any longer._

A giggle escaped my lips, but it quickly turned into a sob. Was I... homesick? No, no way, it couldn't be possible. That didn't make any sense. For one, I'd only been in this place for two days, so it's not like a reaction like this was. I'd never been like this when I was at home or in Forks, so it didn't seem right for me to be in this state now. Not only that, but I'd never been so emotional about such a small situation before. I'd always been pretty calm and composed, and even my own family rarely saw me cry or get upset.

These tears became floods, and before I knew it I was completely overcome with emotion, unable to contain myself. This by far had to be my strangest trip away from home on record. First it was the crazy vertigo-type thing I felt both times I saw the kings, and now I'd run away down some unfamiliar corridor completely on my own, just to have a mental breakdown.

With my head buried in my arms from my overwhelming feeling of self pity, I hadn't even noticed a figure sat next to me. I hadn't checked the time, so I had no clue for how long I'd been sat there for, or for how long this person had been with me. Nonetheless, they were clearly not a human as I hadn't remotely heard them enter.

"I can't say I blame you for your reaction." I instantly recognised the deep yet soft voice as Marcus'.

It seemed I was followed through this castle after all. I considered lifting my head but instead remained in the same position, muffling my words.

"It's just a lot for me to process, you know?" I took a sharp intake of breath. It was a surprise to me that I was even able to say anything considering my state of shock. Where was this perfect diction when I was in the throne room?

He hummed in agreement, and we sat together in silence for a few moments before he spoke.

"The mating bond can do bizarre things to a person's emotions."

I lifted my head in confusion, before turning to him. "How so?"

He simply responded with "I think you know what I mean", and it was clear he was referring to my gushing tears and the fact that I'd just ran aimlessly through the castle.

"Caius and Aro insisted on joining me in following you to see where you were headed, but we thought it more sensible to send just one of us"

"I appreciate it" I replied, lifting the corner of my mouth to a weak smile.

It wasn't that I feared the other two, but simply that it was slightly unnerving being around them. In fairness this was the case with Marcus as well, but he seemed like most passive of the three of them which was what I needed at that moment.

"I do hope we have a chance to reintroduce tomorrow though;" he begun reassuringly. "From my experience, the bond becomes easier to tolerate as more time is spent together"

I pulled down my sleeve to lightly wipe at my nose. "I'm sorry, for the way I reacted. I don't know why that happened, or what came over me-"

"Don't apologise for something that cannot be prevented _il mio amore. _If anything, we should apologise ourselves for making you feel so uncomfortable"

My tears were now dry, but one lone teardrop ran down my face, only to be wiped away by a cold hand. Marcus quickly stood up before helping me to my feet, which still lacked in footwear.

"I'll call Felix to escort you back to your room and bring you some food. He should see to your needs."

"Thank you." I muttered quietly. He gave me a quick smile before vanishing down the corridor, Felix quickly taking his place.

"I can assure you that during your brisk jog of the castle, you already covered half of the distance back to your room" Felix said with an almost sarcastic tone as we began our walk back, to which I rolled my eyes. I realised that I was actually slowing him down if anything, as he could easily speed off and arrive back in a fraction of the time, and I opened my mouth to offer walk on my own only to remind myself that I didn't even know the way back.

Another vampire suddenly appeared in front of me, making my heart jump out of my chest. This man wasn't nearly as tall as Felix, although he was still taller than me. He lightly brushed his brown hair back and glanced up to Felix before moving his attention to me.

"I'm very sorry if I startled you milady. I am Demetri, and I also am part of the guard here." He spoke.

"Eli" I nodded and smiled.

"It's nice to meet you, but I've already heard all about you. I was told to ensure you are given some food. Any requests?"

I'd never been any good at coming up with ideas when put on the spot, so I simply shrugged and asked "What do you have?"

"We have a chef who is brilliant with food and Heidi was sent out to buy groceries for you earlier today, so you may have whatever you wish"

"Ooh okay, then I guess I'll have some pasta or something, I don't mind, surprise me"

Demetri nodded before leaving, but I'd forgotten to add something rather important.

"Hey, um, Demetri?" I awkwardly called out down the corridor. He instantly reappeared with a look of worry on his face.

"I'm vegan, so I can't eat anything with animal products." I added, to which he let out a sigh of relief. I assumed he must be quite on edge after the events from earlier, concerned that I was going to have another breakdown. Again, he vanished, leaving me and Felix to continue our slow stroll back.

On the way, he mentioned my shoes, which made me wince. Apparently I just couldn't help but humiliate myself everywhere I went. I just hoped my new mates were okay with dealing with me and my constant embarrassment. It still puzzled me how I, out of all people, managed to somehow be destined to live the rest of my life with three of the most powerful people in this whole goddamn vampire world. This whole concept hurt my head just to think about, and my mind just couldn't process this mess I'd gotten myself into.

It didn't take long at all before I arrived back to my room, and everything was exactly where I'd left it, except for the addition of a digital clock placed on the dresser in the corner which glowed the digits _17:48_. That would explain why I was so hungry, and so tired; it turns out time flies by when you're losing your mind.

I turned to see that Felix was already gone before I even had the chance to thank him, but this gave me time to settle down and take off my hoodie and now ruined socks. I dramatically threw myself back onto the bed and sighed, finally being left at peace, before a knock on the door caused me to jolt upright.

Two people casually strolled in without even asking to enter, one of them carrying a tray with a bowl of delicious-looking pasta and a glass of water. This girl seemed so young yet absolutely stunning, her blonde hair braided back neatly behind her head. Behind her stood a boy who looked about the same age, and both of them had ruby eyes. Vampires, again. To be fair, I don't really know what else I expected in a place like this.

"Your dinner" the girl bowed before placing the tray on the bedside table. "I am Jane, and this is my brother Alec" she spoke, Alec nodding behind her.

"Nice to meet you" I replied nervously, still getting over the shock of these two strangers wandering into my room. I mean, I could've been getting dressed for all they knew.

"Is there anything else we can get you?" Alec asked.

"Um, not really, no. Actually though, there is something."

"What is it?" Jane snapped as if she had better places to be. She probably did, not actually expecting me to need anything else.

"Oh, it's just my window's been stuck closed and I can't open it. I don't suppose one of you freakishly-strong vampires could get it open for me?"

Jane rolled her eyes and dashed over to the window, and when she put her hand on the handle, it opened with ease. Of course the hinges were made for vampires. She sighed, gesturing to the now open window with a look of absolute exasperation, before strolling out. Well, she was friendly.

"Thanks for the dinner by the way!" I called after her, hoping I hadn't completely pissed her off. The last thing I needed was the entire guard here to hate me and my existence, as they already had way too many reasons to.

"You're welcome Eliana. If you need anything, a member of the guard should always be down this corridor, so don't hesitate." Alec replied. Words' spread about me it seemed, as apparently everyone here now knew my name as well.

"Thank you, Alec" I smiled. He bowed his head slightly and grinned before following after his sister.

Once they left and closed the door, I flopped back onto the bed and stared at the painted ceiling above me. This day had been eventful to say the least, and left me with a lot of burning questions, such as why the Cullens had apparently left me here, or how long it would be until I could leave. In an effort to distract myself from slipping into insanity, I pulled my phone and called Bella. I just needed a sense of familiarity at that moment, and besides, the Cullens were the ones who got me into this mess by dragging me here with them, so the least they could do was help keep me sane.

"Eli! Oh my gosh, hi" I heard Bella murmur something to someone else in the room.

"Hi! It's so nice to hear your voice. God, it's boring here" I lied. I could only wish my life was boring at this point.

"At least you're not stuck here in Forks. Alice seems to be really on edge as well"

"Really?" I remembered when I woke up after passing out in front of the Volturi, she was acting a little weird, but Alice was always slightly crazy so I didn't bother to question it.

"Yeah, I think she's seen something, but she won't tell anyone. It seems good though, I just can't wait to find out what it is"

"Wow me too" I chuckled half-heartedly. Did Alice know? Maybe she had a vision about me being mated to the Volturi. That might've been why she brought me here. Huh, the nerve. I quickly rushed to change the subject, truly fed up of talking about this.

"So how is everyone?" Admittedly, it was a rather stupidly general question, but it was worth a shot. All I needed was distraction from everyone around here.

"All things considered, everything's almost back to normal. Still though, there's something you need to know Eli" she answered, her tone suddenly becoming serious.

"They voted. I'll be transformed into a vampire. After graduation, so it should be easier on Charlie"

There was an eerie silence between the two of us. This change was certainly inevitable, but I didn't realise just how soon it would be. Honestly, I didn't quite know how to feel because, as much as this was something Bella always thought about and she wanted to go through with this, I was definitely going to miss having accident-prone human Bella around to talk to.

"Oh wow, um, Bella that's really great, I mean, congratulations?" I stumbled on my words. Was 'congratulations' really the right word?

"Thanks. Yeah, Edward and Rosalie voted no, but other than that, everyone else was fine with it…you're not mad are you?"

"What? No, never. If this is honestly what you want, I'll support you in it always" I tried to sound encouraging, but this wasn't exactly an easy matter to be supportive of. But in all honesty, Bella was always there for me whenever I needed her, so I had to return the favour, and always would. After all, she was like a sister to me.

The two of us gossiped like a bunch of old ladies for the rest of the evening, but in that moment it was all I wanted to do. My heart longed to be away from this place and back with everyone else, and talking to Bella slightly eased my pain. Many times, I considered asking about the Volturi and how much longer I was to stay here for, or telling her about the… news… I'd received that day, but for some reason I could never get the words of my tongue, and instead resorted to small talk. It just didn't seem right to spoil the moment, and Bella was already going through so much, what with her immanent transformation and all. My problems just felt insignificant, and I decided instead to blank them out.

Once I finally put the phone down, I noticed my empty pasta bowl on my lap, and the digital clock now showed _20:59_. With that, I placed the bowl on the floor and instantly tried to fall asleep, not even bothering to change into something comfier, but anxiety plagued my mind. Marcus said he hoped I'd be reintroduced to the kings tomorrow, but I didn't feel mentally prepared for it. After both of my irrational reactions, I slightly feared whatever was to come. I attempted to reassure myself, telling myself that it couldn't really get much worse, but I couldn't promise it at this point.

_Author's note: Ooh, she still hasn't told Bella about her mates, how exciting (I'm cringey I know). I'm quite excited to go into detail about these characters, especially her mates, but also the Volturi guard. I just hope you guys are enjoying reading this as much as I am writing it. Be sure to leave a review hehe, and until next time I guess! :)_


	5. Chapter 5

_Author's note: So this chapter is quite a bit longer than the last few, so I do hope you appreciate that hehe. Enjoy reading!_

I'd woken up tired and groggy, and all of my muscles were paying the price for my panic attack yesterday. Someone had taken my cup and bowl during the night, and apparently tucked me in? This thought was slightly off-putting but I wasn't going to let it stop me, as I lazily climbed out of bed strolled over to the window Jane had opened the day before. Unlike the previous few days, the weather finally seemed to be warming up, the bright sunlight streaming through the glass as humid spring air filled the room.

Remembering that I apparently had plans for that day, I went straight to picking out a suitable outfit, making sure I wouldn't make the same mistake with my shoes as I had the day before. After what felt like hours trying to find some clothes that actually suited me, I ended up settling with a rose pink a-line skirt and a white printed tee I'd managed to spot after rummaging through all of the many tops that had been provided.

I quickly changed out of the clothes I'd worn the day before and decided to walk over to the mirror, only to realise the absolute state I'd left myself in. Messy lines of mascara ran down my cheeks, and my skin was incredibly dry and in desperate need of moisturiser. I ended up using up three cotton wool pads soaked in make-up remover just to fix the mascara, before redoing the same makeup I'd done the day before, only neater. On the plus side, the outfit I'd chosen fitted me perfectly, despite the skirt maybe being a little on the short side, and I considered changing out of it as it made me slightly uncomfortable, but I managed to talk myself into keeping it on. My unbrushed hair formed natural waves down to my shoulders but I couldn't find a hair-straightener, and it would look worse if I tried to brush it, so I left it as it was.

Someone knocked on the door, waiting a few second before opening it and letting themselves in. I spotted Jane strolling confidently into the room through the mirror followed by Alec, who closed the door behind him.

"You know, if you waited a few more seconds, I would've gladly opened the door for you. There's no need to let yourselves in" I remarked, but they ignored my statement.

"The masters have requested your presence downstairs" Alec said with a strict tone.

I took in a sharp breath, flattening any creases in my skirt out with my palms despite there not being any. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Alec dash over to the dresser and pick up a gold necklace with a few small star pendants, before handing it to Jane who fastened it around my neck. I looked at her in confusion, to which she rolled her eyes.

"Your outfit needed something more interesting, now let's go" she said, already walking out of the door at human speed followed by Alec.

Well at least it was nice to know that they didn't completely hate me, for if they did they surely wouldn't want to help me look presentable. I stepped one foot out of the door only to feel the stone cold floor underneath me, now noticing that I'd almost forgotten my shoes again. This time, I picked up a pair of converse shoes from by the door and sat in the doorframe, tying them up at the speed of a six year old. Before I even managed to realise it, Alec bent down and tied my laces for me much faster than I would've done and helped me to my feet.

I followed the two of them down the dimly lit corridors, too nervous to start up a conversation. After a few minutes, I broke the silence.

"So are you two related then?"

Alec glanced over her shoulder before replying. "Me and Jane are twins. Aro changed both of us when we were quite young"

Before I had a chance to ask further, we halted in front of a set of wooden doors, sunlight visible from the window beside it. Jane pushed it open, leading me out to some kind of garden area, and I put my hand over my head to shield my eyes from the sun. Still following the twins, I was lead through to a patio area with a small round table in the middle where Aro, Marcus, and Caius were sat. Instantly I stopped in my tracks, the nervousness beginning to set in.

"Eliana,_ il mio amore_, how lovely of you it is to join us!" Aro exclaimed, before standing up and pulling out a chair between him and Marcus.

Too anxious to actually form any words, I simply smiled sheepishly and sat down, adjusting my skirt so it didn't look so short. Jane and Alec had already left, closing the door behind them. I'd never expected to see such terrifying people so relaxed, all three of them lounging back into their chairs. Caius even had his sleeves rolled up as he leant his head back, the sunlight scattering off of his exposed skin, which made me giggle slightly.

"Do we humour you?" Aro chuckled as Caius sat up straight.

"Oh no, not at all, not at all" I laughed timidly.

"At least you have shoes this time" Caius joked, looking at my feet which poked out from under the table, my ankles crossed over each other.

"Well, either way it's lovely to see you again Eliana" Marcus chipped in, "I do hope you are feeling okay after yesterday"

"I'm okay, thank you" I replied, trying to seem as polite as possible.

"Please do help yourself to some breakfast _carissima_" Caius said, gesturing to the table which I now noticed was filled with bowls of fresh summer fruit, the kind my mother would refuse to buy at this time of year while it was out of season, as well as a jug of lemonade with a few glasses. I quickly made eye contact with each of them as they waited for me to eat something, before looking down and hesitantly picking up a small bowl of raspberries from the middle of the table, placing it in front of me.

"So," Aro began, clapping his hands together, "I'm sure you have many urgent questions about your time here. So, let me begin by saying that in no way are we holding you here against your will. The Cullens, as you may have noticed, are already back in Forks, and you may join them or go home whenever you feel ready"

I breathed a heavy sigh of relief. For the past two days, it'd felt like I was being kept prisoner here, longing to be back at home.

"How long do you think you will stay with us?" Marcus asked, as I took a small bite out of a raspberry.

I took a moment to ponder this. As much as I was tempted to leave back to Forks as soon as possible, it's not every day you get to spend in a fancy castle in Italy.

I pursed my lips together, "Maybe a few more days? I don't see why I shouldn't stay a little while longer, if that's okay"

"How wonderful!" Aro smiled, and I noticed the other two seemed pleased as well, causing my face to heat up, "We were worried you'd leave too soon, we can't wait to get to know you"

"Me too," I said, "I plan to stay in Forks for a week after I leave here before heading back home"

"Why of course," Caius responded, a faint smile forming on his lips. "But we will be sure to keep in contact with you, _cara mia_"

"Definitely" I agreed, nervously taking another pathetic small bite out of a raspberry.

"Again, we do sincerely apologise if we made you feel uncomfortable earlier, for that is the last thing we would want to do" Marcus added, and the other two nodded in agreement, which made me feel awful.

"No, no," I responded, "please don't apologise. If anything, whatever happened back there was my fault, not yours"

Aro shook his head and took my hand in his for a few moments, before speaking.

"Never blame yourself, _il mio amore_, your reaction couldn't be helped" he said reassuringly. I gave them a smile of gratitude before our time was ended abruptly by the twins entering. Marcus stood up lazily, disappointed that his morning had been interrupted, and pulled my chair out from under the table to take my hands and help me to my feet.

"It's been wonderful to have you here, _cara mia_, do enjoy the rest of your day"

I smiled timidly, tempted to put my arms around him in an embrace, but the rational part of my brain prevented me from embarrassing myself.

"You too" I awkwardly called after them as I was lead back inside by Jane and Alec. _Well, that could've gone worse. At least you had shoes this time._

"So how was your time?" Alec asked eagerly, clearly hoping for some interesting gossip or something. Jane walked a few metres in front of us, keeping an eye on the corridors.

"I mean, it was good, yeah" I replied ambiguously.

"Good? Is that it?"

"What else did you want to hear?" I laughed.

"I don't know, what do you think of the masters?"

"They seem nice, I guess" I nodded, fiddling with a strand of hair that had fallen down my face.

He hummed in agreement, clearly wanting to hear more than I gave him. However, before I had the chance to explain further, we arrived back to the room and Jane pushed the door open. I sat down on my bed, my feet hanging off the edge so that my shoes wouldn't make a mess, not that they would because they were clearly spotless.

Just as I'd settled, Jane and Alec still standing around in the room with me, I instantly remembered something.

"_Shit_"

"What did you do this time?" Jane asked, clearly unamused.

"I forgot about something that's kind of important…" I said, staring at the rug beneath my bed.

"Well?" she asked impatiently.

"So, basically back where I live, at home…"

"Yes?" Jane gestured her hands to continue.

"I sort of have a…boyfriend" I said slowly, annoyed with myself that I's almost let someone as important as him slip my mind. The twins looked at me, not really understanding how this is a vital issue.

"And?" Alec asked this time.

"What do you mean 'and'?" I snapped, "I'm supposed to be destined to live the rest of my life here, and I have a boyfriend!"

"Look, calm down," Jane sat on the edge of my bed, "just break up with him"

"W-what?"

"You heard me. Besides, it's not like you and him are mates or anything, so no harm done."

I was about to argue back, but I knew it was pointless and this moment was inevitable. It felt so wrong though; I'd been with him happily for a year now, and our relationship was going fine. We'd always agreed on everything, and he was so sweet and supportive, so I decided to attempt to keep this break up as amicable as possible. Sitting further into the middle of my bed, I pulled my phone off of my dresser and pulled up my contact list. Alec was stood next to Jane with his arms crossed, both twins clearly eager to see how this was going to go. Eventually I stumbled onto his name and glanced at the two of them before hesitantly pressing call. Unfortunately for me, he picked up instantly.

"Hey babe, what's up?" God, he was already making things difficult for me.

"Um, hey, so I need to talk to you about something. Or, I should say, tell you something" Why was this so damn hard?

"What is it?" he asked patiently. At least he didn't try and change the subject like he usually does.

I drew in a sharp breath and grimaced, before replying.

"Noah, I'm breaking up with you."

There was an eerie silence both over the phone and in the room, until he replied in disbelief.

"Excuse me?"

I bit my lip and repeated myself again. It hurt me so much, and I wouldn't ever want to do anything to hurt him like this. However, I reminded myself that this had to be done, that this was unavoidable. I expected him to say something, but I looked at my phone to see he had hung up, and not only hung up but blocked my number. Jane half smiled at me, in an attempt to provide some level of reassurance. It was weird though; I'd never expected to see Jane smile in my entire life.

"Put it by this way," she began, "I think it wasn't smart of you to be with him in the first place"

"But, how did you expect me to know that I'd have to break up with him eventually?"

"Oh no, that's not what I meant. What I meant was he is a rather terrible 'boyfriend', I can't believe you ever got on with a man like him at all"

I guess she was trying to be comforting, but it really wasn't the time for remarks like that. Instead, I raised an eyebrow at her and leant back onto my pillows, focusing all of my attention on avoiding crying and making a scene. Okay, so maybe I wasn't exactly 'in love' with Noah, but I the end we were friends, and I trusted him with everything. His reaction completely tore me apart inside, as I'd not only just lost a best friend, but I felt solely responsible.

A knock on the door perfectly interrupted my train of thought.

"Bad time?"

I sat up and turned to my right to see Aro stood by the door, his left shoulder leaning on the doorframe. He was still in the same clothes as before, his Volturi crest around his neck and the addition of a pair of sunglasses hooked onto his pocket. His crimson eyes locked onto my turquoise ones, and it was clear he could sense that something was wrong. Jane instantly stood up from the bed, and both of the twins bowed the heads slightly before darting out, their shadows zooming past Aro and into the corridor.

"Not at all," I lied, "what's up?"

"I was just wondering if you'd be willing to keep me company on a little trip into Volterra, _cara mia_" he spoke with his feather-soft voice, carefully stepping into the room. I decided to agree to it, considering it wasn't like I had anything else on my agenda for the day.

"I don't see why not" I replied happily, giving him a quick smile.

"Marvellous! Well, we'd better be on our way before the weather changes" he said, nodding towards the window. I looked out to see that while the sun had been beating down earlier, grey clouds were gathered above, and it seemed to be much colder than it had been in the morning. I guess it's easier for him to go out when the weather's overcast, as vampires are less likely to reveal themselves.

I began to attempt to shuffle off of my bed, mindful of my short skirt as I really wasn't in the mood to accidentally flash him. Fortunately I didn't, but however I stumbled as soon as I stood up, only to be caught by his arms before I could drop to the floor, the side of my face leant against his chest.

"Sorry, sorry" I fumbled awkwardly, before quickly regaining my footing, as Aro placed his hand on the small of my back and led me out of the room and down the corridor. A few steps later, I placed my hand on his arm to stop us.

"Wait one second" I said, pointing my index finger up, before running back into my room and flinging open the wooden door of my wardrobe. After a couple of minutes rummaging through the endless clothing racks and singing "Don't Cha" by the Pussycat Dolls under my breath, I grabbed a fleece-lined denim jacket from its hanger and put it on, just to have in case the weather got too cold later on during the day. I mean, it still was only March.

"Ready?"

I turned on the balls of my feet so that my gaze met Aro's, who was stood patiently a few metres away from me, his arms crossed over his chest. Had he really heard me sing? God, that was embarrassing.

"As ready as I'll ever be," I replied, gesturing towards the door, "leggo!" _Seriously Eli, you just can't help it, can you?_

Aro drew his eyebrows together, apparently slightly confused at my sentence and use of the word 'leggo', before placing his hand where it had been earlier and guiding us back out and down the corridors. We walked virtually in silence, but my room apparently wasn't far at all from the main entrance. Just as we reached the set of large mahogany doors that separated us from the normal human world, Aro stopped and pulled the sunglasses from his pocket to slide them over his nose.

"Sunglasses?" I asked, curious to hear his explanation.

"Need I remind you that we do have red eyes? The last thing we need is one of us revealing ourselves" he explained.

"Of course, but why the sunglasses? Surely it would make more sense just to put in a pair of contact lenses?"

He pulled the frames down so his crimson eyes made contact with mine, a smile playing on his lips.

"I find they're a brilliant fashion statement, don't you think?"

I snorted with laughter before slapping my hand over my mouth.

"Definitely" I agreed, still giggling like a school child.

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It was a very quiet Monday, with very few people around the streets of Volterra. We'd walked around the cobbled lanes together for about an hour, Aro explaining the history of the town along the way. I had been listening to what he was saying at first and it was honestly fascinating, but his voice was so melodic and soothing to listen to that I'd completely zoned out. After around half an hour of listening to his voice with my arm looped around his, he broke out of his tour-guide mode.

"Are you hungry?"

I instantly snapped out, shaking my head quickly, before turning to him.

"What was that sorry?"

"I asked if you were hungry," he chuckled, "there are some really lovely restaurants that some of the human staff have recommended in the past"

Perfectly on cue, my stomach decided to remind me that all I'd eaten up to that point was two raspberries for breakfast.

"I mean, I guess I could eat" I replied, shrugging my shoulders.

Aro suddenly took a right turn, leading me down a different lane. This town really did make me feel like I was walking in one of those holiday brochures, as the entire feel every place gave off was incredible. We stopped at a restaurant on the right and settled down at a table, Aro still wearing his sunglasses proudly with a smug grin on his face.

"And that is exactly why I asked you why you weren't wearing contact lenses instead" I laughed quietly, shaking my head. In his defence though, sunglasses suit him surprisingly well.

"Don't you like them, _cara mia_?"

"Oh yeah, totally. You look stunning, like a model" I responded, but I think he picked up my sarcasm.

The restaurant was relatively quiet as it was only lunchtime in the middle of the week. The aroma of freshly cooked Italian food was so strong it made my mouth water. Turning my attention back to Aro, I noticed he was already running his eyes over the menu, one also placed in front of me. I picked it up, skimming the pages for something to eat, but everything was in Italian so that did make things quite difficult.

"I thought vampires didn't eat human food?" I murmured, in case someone was listening to our seemingly ridiculous conversation.

"We don't," he said, lowering his menu so our gazes fixed, "I just thought I'd help you find something to eat, or offer my translation services"

"Wow, not only a tour guide, but also an Italian-to-English dictionary. What would I do without you?" I joked.

"Well, if you would prefer to simply guess what you're ordering, that works too" he snarked playfully.

I rolled my eyes and grinned before turning my attention back to the menu. I had taught myself some Italian in the car on the way to Volterra, but apparently not nearly enough to have any idea what to eat.

"What the hell is a '_pici all'aglione rosso'_?" I asked, definitely failing to pronounce it correctly. I hoped he wasn't offended by my appalling pronunciation

"It's similar to spaghetti, with tomato sauce," he said, pausing, "oh, and that pronunciation was simply dreadful, we must teach you to speak fluent Italian at some point"

I narrowed my eyes at him jokingly, before the waiter came round and I ordered my meal. While we were waiting, Aro placed his hands over mine.

"Will you come back after you've finished school?" he asked.

"Sorry?"

"The mating bond, it is very different to what Edward and Bella have, for example. Bella is simply Edward's blood singer, _la tua cantante_. However, the bond between you and me and my brothers is much more powerful. This allows us to become more closely affected by each other's actions or decisions, but also means that distance for a prolonged period of time can become an issue"

"So…I basically have to come back?" I queried sceptically.

"Would you want to?"

I thought about this for a moment, and then questioned myself on why this was a thought process I was even thinking about. There was absolutely no reason for me to not want to come back. Sure my time here so far had been…eventful…to say the least, yet still something about being around the kings just made me feel more comfortable, happier even.

"Yes, I would want to," I smiled, "but either way, I'd have to convince my parents first"

"Of course, you have living human parents! I'd love to meet them someday" he exclaimed.

I was about to question why he was so surprised by the fact that my parents were still alive, until I remembered that he was a vampire and an ancient one too. His parents must be long gone by now.

"How do you recommend I get them to let me, you know, move to Italy?" I asked, raising one eyebrow.

"We'll figure out a way," he reassured, "While we are on the topic of your stay, the three of us have something of a gift for you. Consider it a little 'Welcome to the Volturi' gift"

He pulled out a small wrapped gift box from underneath him, confusing me a little.

"How long did you have that with you for?" I laughed as he passed it across the table to me.

I unwrapped it quickly and lifted the lid, revealing a new black iPod with a small portable speaker. I gasped, as my last iPod had broken literally a week before, after I'd been listening to music with it on the windowsill and I'd accidentally flinged it out of the window and onto my parents' driveway. My father took one look at the smashed iPod before dropping it in the bin, claiming it was virtually unsalvageable at this point.

"Oh my God, you didn't have to get me anything!" I squealed, remembering how expensive these were.

"Do you like it? If not, it can easily be exchanged for a different colour and as for the speaker-"

"No, no, absolutely not," I responded, now clutching it to my chest with my left hand, my right hand still in his, "these are expensive as well, please don't spend money on me again"

"Oh, we will" he grinned as I scrunched my nose up at him.

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After our lunch date – lunch date? Can it be called a lunch date? Fine - lunch date, we headed back to the castle, taking a shorter route through the park. I was glad I brought a jacket with me, as I would've freezed my ass off if I hadn't. The weather did in fact take a turn for the worst, the cold breeze beginning to pick up as I stood beside Aro with my left arm looped in his right, protecting myself from the chill. We strolled down the pavement for a while until something caught my eye in the distance, and I gasped.

"Oh my God!"

He drew his eyebrows together and looked in the same direction as me, before returning his gaze to my excited face.

"What _are_ you looking at?" he asked, finding humour in my unexplained enthusiasm.

"Look, over there!" I pointed into the distance and pulled away from him before running towards a playground I'd spotted behind a small cluster of trees. I was always a child at heart to say the least, and my very few friends knew me for skipping through the corridors at my school and getting excited over every playground we'd ever walk past. In fairness, I should've probably tried to hone it in while around the kings, but if they couldn't deal with me and my humiliating actions, that was their problem, not mine.

I sat on one of the swings, which was clearly made for a small child as my hips only just fit, and turned to see that Aro had followed me over, settling down on the swing adjacent, positioned ever so slightly sideways so that he could sit properly.

"I've never seen anyone so excited over a child's play park before, it's delightful!" he laughed.

I swung myself slowly, lifting my feet so that I wouldn't destroy the soles of my new shoes by dragging them on the ground, the hinges of the swing squeaking above me.

"Well, put it by this way; childhood is way too short" I smiled, my gaze fixed on my hands in my lap.

"Agreed"

We sat in silence for a few minutes, the swing now squeaking louder as I propelled myself further away from the ground.

"I do hope you enjoy spending time with us. We've been waiting for a mate for thousands of years" he smiled with sincerity in his eyes.

"I didn't realise it was possible for one person to have three mates" I mused.

"Not impossible, simply rare. It comes as a surprise to us too"

"Wasn't there a law of yours that goes against humans knowing about all you vampires and stuff? So… do I go against that law?"

Aro went silent and looked down, before gazing back up at me.

"That isn't an issue you should concern yourself about for the time being, _cara mia_" he murmured reassuringly, placing his cool hand comfortingly over mine.

_Author's note: Awh, so she's finally beginning to open up around her mates. Honestly I'm really enjoying writing this story, #TeamVolturi all the way hehe. Thank you so much for reading, be sure to leave some feedback, and ily! :)_


	6. Chapter 6

I was sat in front of my mirror in an oversized jumper and shorts, flicking through all the songs that had been already added to my new iPod the kings got me. Funnily enough, it was all exactly the same as I'd had it before, all the playlists identical, the only exception being the absence of the song 'My Neck, My Back'. Shame really, that song was really good to dance to as well.

I'd arrived back at the castle with Aro only an hour earlier, and almost immediately he had to drop me off at my door and leave to catch up on some paperwork. A member of the guard would poke their head around the door now and again, just to check if I was still alive and all, but other than that it was relatively peaceful around here. I stood up to tie my hair up in a quick ponytail, before lying back on the soft white fur rug that covered the floor and playing through my music.

While rolling around and happily belting out the lyrics to 'Pon de Replay', a knock sounded on the door. I reached over and paused the song, waiting to see if it was Jane and Alec, who pretty much always just let themselves in, but instead nothing happened. Rolling my eyes, I crawled to my feet and opened the door, to be met by a woman with long blonde hair, naturally blonde unlike mine, and deep red eyes. Her skin was porcelain white, and her lips were a gorgeous rosy red colour.

"Can I help you?" I asked, looking down at my trashy-looking outfit.

"Hey, I don't think we've met yet. I'm Corin, I work in the guard here" she smiled, extending a hand which I shook hesitantly.

"Eliana" I smiled.

"I know who you are," she giggled, "I was sent to fetch you by Caius"

"Caius?"

"Yes, he's over in his wing, now let's go" she said, and instantly headed down the corridor.

"Um, Corin?"

"Yes?" she turned to face me.

"Don't I have time to change or something?" I really didn't like the thought of wearing something I'd wear to bed to go and meet with someone. She glanced at her wrist watch and looked up at me.

"No, unfortunately you're already running three minutes late"

"Mhm," I crossed my arms, "and whose fault is that then?"

"Okay I'll admit, that's my bad, but it would be better if we're not any later than we already are"

I began to follow her, tiptoeing barefoot along the stone floor, until I felt arms under my knees and arms, lifting me off the ground.

"This should save some time, I hope you don't mind" she added, to which I raised my arms in exasperation.

"I honestly don't care at this point" I replied, closing my eyes as I felt the fast rush of air blow over me, which ended quickly as I was placed down in front of a door which looked similar to mine. To be honest, everywhere here looked exactly the same to me.

She tapped her knuckles lightly on the door before disappearing, leaving me standing there alone awkwardly, shifting my weight between my right and left leg. It didn't take long for the door to be opened, as Caius stood in the doorway. He was at least 5 inches taller than me, the top few buttons of his shirt undone and his sleeves rolled up just past his elbows.

"I thought you would never arrive" he remarked, glancing at the clock by the door.

"Sorry about that, Corin's just kind of slow and-"

"I was just teasing_ carissima_, please do come in" he attempted to smile, moving to the side so that I could step past him.

His room was about the same size as mine, but with a desk littered with papers and books, and in the corner of the room sat a TV with a small loveseat sofa. What did confuse me was the fact that he also had a bed in the middle of the room as I thought vampires didn't sleep, but then again, who's to say that bed was necessarily for sleeping.

I paced over to the sofa and sat down with my legs curled underneath me, Caius settling down on the other end so as to give me some personal space, which I appreciated.

"What did you want to do?" he asked, his left leg rested over his right as he turned to me.

"I'm not bothered; did you have anything in mind?"

He hummed for a second in thought.

"We could watch a movie. The DVD cabinet is below the TV" he responded, pointing to a small black cabinet. I scrambled off the sofa and onto the floor, opening the door and running my fingers along the expansive collection of DVDs he had. There had to be at least a hundred or so movies here.

"Do you watch TV a lot?" I turned my head to him.

"Not usually, as you can see from my lacking collection of films" he replied. He was joking, right?

Eventually I stopped at a DVD that was all too familiar. I used to watch it all the time which drove my friends crazy, so it had to be perfect for this moment.

"I've found the _perfect_ movie for us to watch, I just know it" I smiled smugly, turning round to show Caius 'The Cat in the Hat'.

He stared at me for a moment with his mouth open in absolute bewilderment. "No."

"Please?" I pretended to frown and crawled over to him, clutching the DVD close to me.

"Why on earth would you want to watch that pathetic little film?" he scoffed as his head tipped back and hit the accent pillow behind him.

"One; it has Mike Myers. Two; it has Mike Myers dressed as a giant fury cat. Do I really need to say more?" I was so determined to convince him at this point, "Please, Caius? I'll temporarily promote you as my 'favourite mate'?" I jokingly pleaded.

He looked up at me and his crimson eyes fixed on mine.

"You have a favourite out of us? And that favourite was not me?" he raised his eyebrow.

I sighed and shrunk my shoulders, "No I don't, I just really wanted to watch The Cat in the Hat."

"Okay, fine," Caius took a sharp intake of breath, "we can watch The Cat in the Hat if that really makes you happy. Just remember, I will not forget about this" he warned. Right, because he was going to use us watching this movie against me.

I crawled back over to the TV and put in the DVD, before turning around and resuming my previous position on the sofa, pulling my jumper sleeves down to keep my hands warm. I sat comfortably for the first half of the movie, making a comment about Sally and Conrad having a striking resemblance to Jane and Alec, which Caius seemed to also see. Funnily enough, he only seemed to chuckle at all during the innuendoes and dirty jokes. It's really fascinating to see just how much you can learn about a person, or vampire, simply from their sense of humour.

After a while I began to fidget out of boredom and decided to look over Caius' shoulder. He had a pencil in one hand and a sketchbook open on his lap, his attention switching between the TV and the page he was on.

"What 'cha doing?"

He looked over to me and smirked before diverting his eyes back to his page. "Just a few sketches"

I shuffled closer to him, my head peering over his arm like a little meerkat, to see that he'd been editing a rather impressive sketch of the Cat.

"I didn't know you do art!" I gasped. The detail on it was honestly incredible, and Caius seemed pretty proud of himself now that I'd mentioned it.

"I am a vampire who's been around for over three thousand years. What else do you think I do with my spare time?" he remarked playfully.

"I don't know, suck people's blood, sleep in a coffin all day, turn into a bat, I'm just spitballing here" I shrugged.

He rolled his eyes and continued, carefully adding each individual wisp of hair onto the page. I leaned on his arm, still observing him intently.

"I wish I was good at art" I muttered almost silently to myself.

"I'm sure you are not that bad" he smiled comfortingly. Goddamn vampire hearing.

"Oh yeah?" I challenged, "Watch this"

I pried his pencil out of his grip and nudged his arm out of the way so that I had a clear view of the sketchbook in front of me. Grabbing the corner of another page and pulling it towards me, I doodled a tiny stick man, the kind I would do at the back of my textbooks at school. I even drew a little arrow and gave it a label: '_Eli's shit attempt at art, by Eli'_, before passing the pencil back to him.

"You're welcome. You'd better treasure that forever" I grinned as he flipped back to the page I'd drawn on and chuckled.

During the course of the rest of the movie, I hadn't even noticed that I'd positioned myself so that I was curled into his side, my head rested on his surprisingly comfortable shoulder while his head leant on top of mine. At first I was about to pull away and sit up, feeling a little uneasy about how close together we were, but being around him made me feel…safe somehow, like all the world's problems meant nothing in that moment, like he was the only one who mattered.

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My eyes wearily fluttered open as my brain still began to wake up and process my surroundings.

"Good morning,_ carissima_"

I lifted my head to realise that I'd fact fallen asleep with my head on Caius chest, my right arm and leg lazily draped over him, as his arm was wrapped around me. Instantly, I felt my cheeks heat up as I buried my head in the bed sheets to avoid further embarrassment. It was too late now, though.

"When did I fall asleep?" I groaned.

"You were fast asleep by the end of the movie, so I thought I'd let you rest, instead of disturbing you by taking you back to your room" I felt the soft rumble in his chest as he replied, a smug grin on his face.

"Sorry about that" I added, now attempting to get up. For whatever reason, some really dim part of my brain decided that it was a good idea to climb over Caius rather than roll to the other side of the bed, so with all of my will power I attempted to slide over him, only to realise I'd gotten stuck with my legs straddled either side of his torso. Why was I always getting myself into these situations?

"Do you need any help?" he chuckled. Of course he was loving this, as he placed his hands on my sides in an effort to assist me in standing up. If anyone were to walk through his door at this exact moment, this scene would look beyond ridiculous, and humiliating. I pulled my left leg over, now kneeling on the edge of the bed.

"It's fine, I've got it, I-" I slipped back and almost fell onto the floor before Caius zoomed in from behind me and caught me under my arms so that I was leant against him.

"Thanks," I smiled, blushing as he stood up, his arms still under mine, "is your hair naturally blonde?"

"Excuse me?" he asked irritatedly, spinning me around to face him. Had I struck a nerve?

"It's just so white, I was wondering if it's always been that colour or if you simply bleached it" God, I was digging my own grave.

"Yes, it is my natural colour. I have no reason to artificially colour my hair," he turned his head slightly to look at my hair, "is yours natural?"

"Ha, I wish" I giggled.

"Why do you colour it blonde then?"

I thought about this for a moment, and in fairness I really didn't have any good reason or explanation to give him.

"Because I want nothing more than to look exactly like you, Caius," I snarked, before turning to stroll out of the door, "thanks again for the evening!"

He didn't answer, but instead stared at me in bewilderment as I casually left in a fit of laughs, closing the door behind me. And that is how you make a grand yet stupid exit.

"Hi"

I leapt off my feet and quickly spun around, my heart beating out of my chest. "Jesus, will you vampires stop doing that?"

"I wish I was sorry," he replied, extending a hand, "I'm Afton"

_Dick_.

"Eliana," I raised an eyebrow before shaking his hand,"so, why are you here 'Afton'?" I mimicked his name.

"Actually I was sent to escort you back to your room, but now that I'm thinking about it, it might be a little more fun to leave you to find it for yourself"

"Right, I'm not dealing with this, just lead me back to my room please" I bowed sarcastically.

"If anything, _I'm_ supposed to bow to _you_"

"Be my guest"

He exaggerated his bow and began the walk back, me beside him. His human walking pace was so incredibly fast and he took such big steps, which did make things a little difficult for me.

"So, if you don't mind me asking, how was your evening with Master Caius?" he asked.

"I do mind actually" I responded, refusing to make eye contact with him. It seems the Volturi only hire the best.

"Okay, well let me rephrase my question; please do tell me how your evening was with Master Caius"

"Why? Am I obliged to tell you?"

"No," he looked down at the ground that was moving speedily past us, "I just wanted some drama. You have no idea how little the guard have to gossip about"

"Fine" I sighed, as it wasn't really a secret. I proceeded to tell him everything about the evening, and in his defence, he makes a very good audience, gasping in shock and laughing at just the right times.

"Hmm, so do you like him?" he pried.

"What do you mean? We're mates"

"That didn't answer my question. Do you like him?" he raised an eyebrow in anticipation.

"I mean…yes, yes I do" I answered with false confidence, as we arrived back at what I could only assume was my door, considering I had absolutely no navigation skills.

"In my opinion, I think your relationship with the Masters is cute" he remarked, leaning against the doorframe.

"Don't make this weird, Afton" I waved my hand at him dismissively, opening the door to enter my room as he followed me in and closed the door behind him. I headed over to my dresser and pulled the hair band out of my hair, my locks tumbling down my face.

"You're not leaving, are you?" I paused, not even bothering to turn around.

"Did you want me to leave?" he questioned, settling into a chair in the corner of the room.

"Stay if you want, I guess" I groaned. To be honest though, as much as Afton had already managed to piss me off and we'd only just met, he was good company to have around and talk to. I bent down and picked up my iPod off the floor, playing through my music at full volume. Reaching over to the wardrobe, I pulled out two identical blouses in different colours.

"Pink or blue?" I asked, turning to him.

He shrugged his shoulders and lazily pointed his finger at the blue one. I grabbed the first pair of jeans I could find and headed into the bathroom to change, locking the door behind me. When I came back out, my laundry gathered in my arms, I found my breakfast on the table, and Afton lying on his stomach on the floor, his legs in the air crossed at the ankles, scrolling through my song list.

"What are you doing?" I queried.

"Looking for any decent songs, this is a good one" he pressed play before standing up again, taking my laundry from me and tossing it into the laundry basket by the door.

"Are you a Kelly Clarkson fan or something?" I commented on his choice of song, 'Since U Been Gone'

"It's better that than some of the other stuff you have there" he remarked, resuming his position in the chair.

"If you say so" I curled up on the edge of my bed, my breakfast on my lap.

"If you ask me," he begun, fiddling with a hair band he'd found on the windowsill, "you should've made a move while on top of Master Caius"

"Is this your relationship? I didn't think so"

"Ew great, now I'll never get that image out of my head" he cringed in the corner.

"You asked for it!" I laughed, almost spilling food all over me. It was nice to have a friend to talk to and laugh with, especially with my current issues. Considering how I was walking into this whole 'true mate' thing completely blindly, any friendly advice or support would be great.

_Author's note: Hey yo, so I'm back with another chapter yay. Eli seemed like she needed a close friend around here, so I thought I'd give her one. Also, she's finally becoming less terrified of Caius, and I'm honestly falling in love with her relationship. Sorry that I'm updating so frequently, it's just that there really isn't much to do when in quarantine. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed reading, ily!_


	7. Chapter 7

"I'm. So. Bored"

"Welcome to Volterra Eli, this is what every day will be like from now on" Afton chuckled.

We were both flopped back beside each other on the bed, and there was absolutely nothing to do. Nothing. So instead, to pass the time, I'd spent the last half hour whining about how bored I was, and how much I wanted to do something, anything.

A knock came from the door and I sighed.

"What _are_ you doing?" Demetri walked in through the door which had apparently been left open, absolutely lost about what was happening. Neither I nor Afton bothered to get up.

"I'm bored" I groaned, rolling to the side.

"I've been getting this for the last hour or so" Afton sat up leaning his weight on his arms, still watching me with exasperation.

"Half an hour," I snapped, "Geez, how crazy do you think I am?"

He rolled his eyes and stood up off of the bed, pacing lengths across the floor.

"You know, you could always go down to the game room" Demetri suggested with a shrug. I instantly sat up straight and looked at him, a smile forming on my lips.

"Game room?" I squealed, before turning to Afton and slapping him on the arm, which didn't hurt him obviously, but the intent was there.

"What was that for?"

"What the hell, you didn't bother to tell me there was a game room? _This whole time_?"

"I didn't think you'd be interested!"

I rolled my eyes and threw my arms up at him before putting on the same pair of Converse shoes I'd worn the day before and heading for the door. Demetri instantly stepped in front of me to lead the way, leaving me and Afton trailing along behind as I closed the door behind us.

"We might as well see if anyone wants to join us while we're on our way" Demetri called behind him, turning to a staircase on the left. We followed him up and he opened the door confidently, strolling in with me and Afton close behind. There were about ten or so people in the room, all of them with cloaks and Volturi crests around their necks. Afton seemed to recognise someone and immediately left my side to go and join them.

"Everyone, this is Eliana," Demetri gestured to me and I waved awkwardly, "me and Afton were about to show her to the game room if anyone would like to join"

I spotted Felix in a chair near the back of the room, as he stood up and came over to us, placing down the book he'd been reading.

"I'll come, but there is a trial currently taking place in the throne room, so we may be forced to leave at any time"

"Let's go then, apparently we may not have too long" Demetri stepped aside, allowing me to leave first, followed by him, Felix, Afton, and a brunette woman who had her hand in his. She quickly moved to the front of the group to walk beside me.

"I'm Chelsea" she grinned, extending a hand out.

"Eliana, it's nice to meet you" I smiled back, taking her hand.

"Hey, how come my introduction wasn't as friendly as that?" Afton called from behind me.

"Only you're to blame for that!" I yelled, before realising the extreme echo in these halls.

"So, I see you've already met my mate" she laughed.

"Who? Afton?"

"Yes, Afton" she replied light-heartedly. There was an awkward pause in our conversation.

"Just admit it," she whispered playfully into my ear, "he's insufferable"

"Well, maybe 'insufferable' is a bit extreme, but…couldn't agree more" I muttered under my breath.

"I heard that!"

"Stop listening then!" Chelsea laughed, waiting back to take Afton's hand and walk with him.

"So, the infamously ruthless and unforgiving Volturi have a game room then?" I turned to Felix and Demetri.

"Of course. Mind you, it did take a lot of persuading the Masters to allow us to have it" Felix remarked.

"Hmm, I can imagine" I laughed, as the group turned a corner to a dark, looming door. This whole area of the castle honestly made me feel like I was in some kind of haunted dungeon or something, which was an unnerving thought to say the least.

"Eliana, welcome to th-"

Demetri was cut off by Afton shoving past, pulling a giggling Chelsea along with him and flinging the door open with ease.

"No need to make it so dramatic Demetri!" he called behind him, to which Demetri growled.

"As I was saying before I was _rudely interrupted_, welcome to the Volturi guard's game room" he said, standing to the side to let me through. Astonishingly, the contrast to this room and every other room was laughable, the walls painted a bright white colour and sunlight streaming through the large windows. Fresh spring air filled the room, and the entire far wall was made up of shelves containing just about every board game and card game imaginable. A flat screen TV sat in the middle of the room, surrounded by brightly coloured bean bags and a soft red sofa. Afton and Chelsea sat in the corner at a table with a chess board set out, apparently resuming a previous game.

I made my way over to the TV, noticing they had a Wii plugged in with Wii Sports still running in the background. Settling on the sofa and pulling a cushion onto my lap, I picked up a remote.

"Anyone for Wii bowling?"

Felix strolled over, hastily picking up a spare remote that had been left neglected on the carpet and came to join me.

"Easy."

Usually, I didn't have anyone at home to play games with, what with having no siblings and very few friends, so this made for a change. Not only that, but I was still in the process of convincing my parents to get me a Wii or Xbox. I would always play on the Cullens' games console whenever I went round, but that wasn't as often as I would've liked.

It turned out I was better at bowling than Felix, completely thrashing him time and time again. This went on for a while, him constantly insisting on a rematch and providing excuses along the lines of "the sensor on my remote isn't working" and "you tripped me up". What didn't help was Demetri stood leaning against the back of the sofa, cheering me on the entire time, which seemed to really piss off Felix. You have no idea how funny it is to see such a big, tall person so easily beaten down. Quite a few wins later, it did get boring, so I decided to let him win a few times, as Felix really wasn't the kind of person you want on your bad side in any way.

"Your turn Demetri" I offered my remote to him but before he had the chance to take it, the door abruptly opened, Corin standing in the doorway. Her hair was tied in a neat low bun, her skin looking even paler from the lighting in the room.

"Oh, hello again Eliana," she tilted her head to the left to look past Felix and waved at me, "Aro has requested us all in the throne room. The others are already there"

"This isn't over" Felix jokingly narrowed his eyes at me and followed Corin out of the room, Afton, Chelsea, and Demetri just behind.

"If you need anything, the throne room is down this corridor and on the right" he called, softly closing the door behind him.

"Have fun and don't die!" I yelled back, earning a chuckle from Afton audible through the thin wood of the door. _And then there was one_.

I decided to continue mindlessly playing tennis on the Wii, not even bothering to stand up. A few minutes later, I was about to turn off the TV and play chess with myself before someone knocking on the door startled me, causing me to leap up onto my feet.

"Yes?" I asked warily. Everyone was supposedly in the throne room, so I had no idea who the hell this was.

The door opened and Marcus stepped through, carefully closing it behind him and walking over to me once he noticed that I still had my hand over my chest.

"I am sorry if I startled you, _il mio amore_" he spoke softly.

"Startled? Not at all. Just consider it…keeping me on my toes," I replied half-smiling, my heartbeat finally returning to its normal rate, "I thought you were still in trials?"

"I managed to leave early as there were only a few minor crimes left to be dealt with today, so I thought I would come and join you" he chuckled lightly, gazing into my blue eyes. This moment probably would've been a little more romantic if not for the tennis theme tune playing in the background.

"Care to join me in some tennis then?" I resumed my seat in the corner of the sofa with my legs crossed, placing the cushion back on my lap and offering him the remote Felix had left discarded on the beanbag he'd been sitting on earlier.

"Tennis?" he drew his eyebrows together and sat down on the seat adjacent, his cold hand lightly brushing mine as he took the spare remote from me.

"Yes tennis, unless you wanted to play bowling or golf or something" I laughed.

"Tennis works fine," he smiled as I opened up a game, "So, how do these remote controls work?" he asked, studying all of the buttons.

"All you need to do is motion hitting a tennis ball, like this" I swung my wrist back.

It didn't take nearly as long as I expected for him to get the hang of the game, and by the time we were three or so games in, he was virtually unbeatable. In my defence, I was in fits of laughter the entire time, struggling to believe that Marcus of the Volturi was playing tennis on Wii Sports and was good at it.

"May I ask, why are your denim jeans ripped?" he asked, glancing at my exposed knees.

"They're made like that" I answered timidly, twirling a piece of thread from them around my finger.

"But why would you want to buy them like that?"

"It's fashionable. Trust me, everyone my age wears them like this. Besides," I giggled, looking over at his hair, "I could say the same thing about your hair"

"Don't you like it then?"

"Oh no, I love it," I smiled genuinely, gazing at his brunette locks which fell messily to his shoulders, "it's just that my mother used to always warn me to stay away from men with long hair. Oh, and piercings" I laughed.

He seemed ever so slightly taken aback by my comment, so I smiled at him, hesitantly running my fingertips through a strand of his hair. It was extraordinary how soft it was, considering he was a three thousand year old vampire and it hadn't grown at all since his transformation. I really did need to ask him about his hair care routine at some point.

"The past few days have been insane" I sighed.

He turned to face me, "Hmm?"

"Well put it by this way; this time a week ago, I didn't even know who the Volturi were. I was still packing to leave for Forks to spend two weeks there. My life was, well, relatively normal, the only exception being the fact that I was close with the Cullen family"

"How do you know the Cullens then?" he asked.

"I've been friends with Bella since I was little, our mothers were friends, and she was the one who introduced me to them," I paused, "Do they know, you know, about…?"

"The mating bond?" he finished my sentence for me, "No, we felt that this information should not be shared by us, but instead by you"

I inhaled sharply and bit my lip. Great, so now I was the one who had to break this news to them. Considering the Volturi almost killed both Bella and Edward, they weren't exactly on the Cullens' good side. The last thing I needed was to lose my closest friends over this whole 'true mate' thing.

"Is there something wrong, _cara mia_?"

"Nothing, it's just," I kept my eyes down, my hands in my lap, "I don't know how the Cullens' will react to all this. What if they… I don't want them to hate me"

Marcus took my small hand and held it in his.

"Eliana, if there is one thing I know about the Cullens, it is that they are good people, and they do care about you a lot. We vampires have great understanding and respect for the mating bond, so the last thing they would ever do is hate you for something that is out of your control" he squeezed my hand lightly.

Maybe he was right; maybe I was worrying over nothing. This whole thing was truly out of my control, and there was absolutely nothing I could do about it. Besides, they would surely find out at some point in anyway, so this wasn't a secret I could keep from them forever.

Instinctively, I reached over to hug him, and I was about to back away embarrassed before he put his arms around my shoulders, pulling me closer to him reassuringly. He stroked the side of my face lightly with his hand before sitting back and picking up his remote which had fallen on the floor.

"Rematch?" he chuckled, handing me my remote which also had fallen on the floor.

**Author's note: Obviously Wii Sports theme music is the most rOmAnTiC music out there, and that's just facts. Anyway, I don't really know why this chapter took so long for me to write considering how short it is, but I hope you like it nonetheless. Feel free to leave a review or whatever, and thank you so much for reading, ily!**


	8. Chapter 8

This was the first time I was actually being allowed to navigate the castle on my own. Sure, I wasn't going far, having been given very specific directions to the kitchen and being made to recite them perfectly to ensure I had them memorised, but it was still a refreshing feeling of independence. I practically skipped down the hall, took a left just as Marcus had instructed, and headed down the stairs to a set of double doors. The whole time I'd been here, I'd been treated like a baby, a guard member constantly nearby in case I hurt myself or got into trouble. For once, I didn't need to worry about someone watching every little thing I do, and it was only then that I realised how much I'd been longing for freedom like this.

I inhaled sharply, looking around me before pushing the doors open and walking in. The room that I'd just strolled into happened to be the empty kitchen, which even surprised me. Usually by this point I would have entered somewhere I wasn't supposed to be, like someone's private quarters or straight into a dungeon, but by a pure stroke of luck, I actually managed to follow directions correctly.

Feeling pretty proud of myself, I went over to the fridge to look for something to make myself for lunch, a smug grin still on my face. In the end, I settled on making myself a quick bowl of pasta after spotting a jar of pesto sauce in the door of the fridge. I'd only just finished cooking, heading over to the sink to pour out the boiling water, when Chelsea decided it was a good idea to materialise beside me.

"Jesus, Chelsea, do you mind?" I gasped, almost dropping the entire saucepan in the sink.

"Sorry Eliana, here, let me take that" she took the handle from me and placed the pasta back on the stove, now pouring the sauce in for me.

"It's fine, you can just call me Eli" I smiled.

"Okay then, Eli" she grinned, "wow, I love that nickname. It suits you well"

"Thanks, I was never a big fan of the name 'Eliana' in anyway" I beamed at her as she passed me a bowl and dished out a serving of lunch.

"What? Why? Eliana is such a gorgeous name though?" she raised her eyebrows, before smirking, "I bet the Masters love it in anyway"

"Does everyone here meddle in each others' private lives?" I asked, unamused by the fact that everyone seems to be under the impression that they can give me relationship advice all of a sudden.

"No, just yours," she giggled, taking my hand in hers and leading me out, "let's go"

"Go? Where?"

"To the private library. Unless there was somewhere else you wanted to be"

"No, no, I'm yet to see it for myself in anyway" I went along with her, my bowl of pasta leaving a trail of steam behind us.

We made our way down the dimly-lit halls which were surprisingly scarce of guard members, until I remembered that everyone else was in trials.

"Aren't you supposed to be in a trial right now?" I asked her.

"If I will be needed, it won't be for another, hmm," she glanced at her wristwatch, "half an hour? They should be finished soon in anyway"

"Fair enough-"my sentence was cut short by Chelsea.

"Corin!"

"Chelsea!"

The two ran up to each other and embraced like they hadn't seen each other in years. I confusedly wandered over to them, not wanting to interrupt what was apparently an emotional moment. The moment Corin spotted me, she embraced me the same way, causing me to drop my bowl which was only just caught by Chelsea and her cat-like reflexes.

"We were just on our way to the private library!"

"No way! Can I come?"

"Oh my God, yes! This is going to be so much fun!"

It was like listening to a bunch of eleven year old girls chatting and squealing together. After standing in the hallway awkwardly for a few minutes, listening to their infinite conversation and tapping my foot for them to hurry up, I gave up and rolled my eyes, walking ahead of them down the corridor.

"Eli, you just walked past it!" Chelsea called out to me.

"Wait, where?" I spun around in a circle and stumbled slightly.

Both of them dashed over to a door about two feet behind me and opened it, allowing me to enter first. I'm not going to lie; it was a little smaller than I imagined it to be, considering this was a library. The walls of the circular room were made up of shelves filled to the brim with books, most of which weren't in English. A few were Italian and Greek, but the rest completely confused me. There was one that even seemed to resemble Chinese, but I had absolutely no idea. In the middle sat an oak desk scattered with random handwritten papers and parchments which Corin was quick to sweep onto the floor with one swift move of her arm.

"Corin!" I panicked, "Those look important!"

She shrugged her shoulders and sat down in the grand black leather spinning chair with her feet on the desk, me and Chelsea settling on the sofa on the other side. This room resembled a meeting room more than anything else.

"So, when you said 'private library'…"

"Yeah, this is where Aro usually reads and has his super-secret meetings" Corin finished.

"You've got to be joking," I muttered to myself, "are we even allowed to be in here?"

"Well, as long as we don't make a mess, there's no rule against it"

I raised my eyebrow pointedly at the pile of paper that was now left on the floor by the foot of the desk, to which she waved her hand dismissively.

"Eh, you're his mate, what's he going to do?"

"Kill me?" I widened my eyes in exasperation.

"Fine, look," she scooped up all of the neglected sheets of paper and dropped them in a crumpled pile in the middle, "happy? Now he has absolutely no reason to kill you"

"Oh my" I sighed, picking up my bowl and finally eating my lunch, which was now at an unappetising lukewarm temperature.

"So," I began, "why did you join the Volturi? If you don't mind me asking"

"Not at all," Chelsea bounced in her seat and fixed her gaze at me, "we have abilities that are valuable to the coven"

"Like what?" I asked, intrigued.

"I have the ability to influence emotional ties between individuals. Basically, I can break and strengthen any bond between people"

"That's crazy! So, you can basically force people to love or hate each other?"

"To put it simply, yes. Don't worry though, I would never use it on you unless you were to request it" she smiled. That was a relief.

"If you can play with people's emotional ties, then what's your ability?" I asked Corin.

"My ability is to make any individual feel contentment. Again, I wouldn't want to use it on you without your permission" she beamed.

"Good, yours is pretty invasive in anyway Corin" Chelsea teased.

"Oh yeah? Well at least I wasn't born with the ability to force friendships" she snapped.

"At least I wasn't born with the ability to force happiness!"

"_Contentment_! For the last time, it's _contentment_!"

Both of them were now stood up, glaring at each other from either side of the desk. Were they really having this argument right now?

"Guys, geez, calm down. Both of your abilities are equally invasive, so keep them both away from me thanks" I laughed.

They narrowed their eyes at each other and sat down slowly, resuming their conversation as if nothing had ever happened. _Vampires_.

"How are you finding Volterra then, Eli?" Chelsea asked, brushing through her long brunette hair with her fingertips.

"It's pretty damn cool, the town is incredible. Unfortunately, I've only been out once so far but, from what I've seen, I love it"

"Wait, when was this? Did you go shopping without us?" Corin frowned.

"Firstly, this was before I met either of you, so no hard feelings. Secondly, I was out with Aro in anyway. Thirdly, what shopping would I possibly need to do? I have a wardrobe packed with clothes"

"Oh Eli, you can never have too much clothing"

"Never" Chelsea butted in.

"If you say so" I smiled sarcastically, placing my now empty bowl on the desk just as Chelsea took my arm and dragged me to the door, with Corin following closely behind.

"Where are we going? What about the mess?" I called, attempting to turn around. Goddamn vampires are too strong for their own good.

Corin made a u-turn and picked up my bowl before following us back out and closing the door behind her. "What mess?"

"But… but…but what about the papers? Thanks to you, it's obvious someone was in there, and I doubt Aro would be too happy about that"

"Oh, calm down Eli, live a little" Chelsea laughed and leant into my right, Corin leaning into my left.

I decided not to fight it as they guided me down the corridor, leading us up a familiar set of stairs. Both of them seemed to constantly giggle at pretty much everything, and considering their supposed age, their maturity was at a serious low. Corin flung the door open to reveal the guards' quarters, Chelsea still clinging onto my arm and pulling me over to sit with her and Afton.

There were many more people in the room than earlier, maybe thirty or forty, all with dark-coloured cloaks and Volturi crests around their necks. Everyone was sat on different tables and chairs, with a few beanbags in the corners which looked like they'd been dragged up from the game room. The entire room was just as dimly-lit as the rest of the castle, with just a few candles dotted around to provide light.

I sat down at a small round table beside Chelsea, with Afton, Jane, and two other guard members I'd never come across before. The black haired woman looked in her mid twenties, her nails painted deep red in contrast to her olive skin tone.

"You must be Eliana, it is a pleasure to meet you" she took my hand and shook it formally.

"Thanks, and you are…?"

"I am Renata, Aro's personal bodyguard" she answered.

"Dude, do you really need to add that to every sentence? Did she ask?" the other guard snarked which earned a glare from Renata, before he turned to me and nodded his head slightly, "I'm Santiago"

"Nice to meet you guys" I smiled sheepishly.

"Can I have a redo of my introduction now?" Afton asked from across the table hopefully.

"Weren't you the one who jump-scared Eliana and then pried on her love life?" Jane snapped.

"Don't act all innocent with me, you wanted to know too, Jane-"

"Fine, fine," I held my hands up before anything escalated, twisting myself to face Afton "why hello, my name is Eliana. What is yours, _kind sir_?"

"Well thank you, _milady_," he put on an awful fake English accent in an attempt to mimic me, "I am sir Afton of the Volturi. It is a _pleasure_ to make your acquaintance"

"Dear lord" Jane muttered and rolled her eyes as me and Afton shook hands exaggeratedly from across the table.

"_Likewise_. Happy now? Can I get on with my day without you pestering me, 'sir Afton'?" I snapped, still teasing him about his name.

"Why of course, _milady_" he laughed, just as Demetri came over to our table.

"Movie night, everyone will receive one vote and one vote only. The options are: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," he slammed the DVD on the table.

"God, that one creeps me out" I whispered to Chelsea and Renata.

"But let's be honest, isn't Johnny Depp cute in it?" Renata nudged my shoulder lightly, Chelsea nodding in agreement.

"I guess" I chuckled lightly.

"King Kong, War of the Worlds," Demetri slammed each one on the table in turn, "and finally, Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith"

Everyone on our table decided to vote for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for the simple reason that it always gives me nightmares. _What did I do to deserve such a thoughtful bunch of people?_ Luckily for me, they were outvoted by the rest of the guard, who all seemed desperate to watch that Star Wars movie. My father had always tried to get me into the franchise like him, but it was truly a lost cause. Obviously I'd never tell him, but all the movies sucked ass. Chelsea had moved over to sit on Afton's lap, me and Santiago now in a disagreement about the movie.

"How could you hate this movie? Dude, no offence, but what's wrong with you?"

"It's awful, the acting is terrible, and the special effects look like they're from a comedic piss take" I hissed.

"Take that back, take that back right now!" he seemed genuinely hurt by my statement.

"Nope, you can't make me" I stubbornly crossed my arms and turned my nose up at him.

"Oh, if you weren't the Masters' human mate, I would-"

"Santiago, calm down, it is literally just a movie. A movie." Jane snapped and returned her gaze back to the projector screen.

"Thank you, Jane" I smiled smugly, gesturing at her, but she didn't respond.

"Can you guys keep it down? I'm off to sit with Felix, Demetri, and Alec. At least they can take this movie seriously" Chelsea stood up and zoomed over to the other side of the room, jokingly scowling at us.

"Thanks for that," Afton muttered, readjusting his cloak, "I was comfortable as well"

"Sir Afton of the Volturi, do you agree that Star Wars in general sucks ass?" I overdid my accent.

"I do in fact concur with queen Eliana of the Volturi" he chuckled.

"W-what?!" Santiago yelled a little too loudly, slamming his fists on the table. Everyone in unison turned and shushed us harshly, before settling back down and continuing the movie.

"See what you did?" I whispered, raising my eyebrows at him.

"What do you mean, 'me'? Dude, this is your doing" he hissed.

"Renata, do you like Star Wars, or do you have common sense?" I asked, to which Santiago growled.

"I can't say I do enjoy watching Star Wars whatsoever, no" she grinned smugly at him.

"So that's…," I did a quick head count for effect, "four to one. Any words?"

"Jane still hasn't explicitly stated her opinion though. Jane?"

She slowly turned her head to him, clearly annoyed that we'd disrupted her viewing.

"I don't like it, but I do like movie night so, if you don't mind, please do keep the volume down" she snapped.

"But I-"

Jane made a zipping sound and put one finger over her lips before resuming the movie.

"Again, any words?" I asked proudly.

"You guys suck" he sighed, looking truly disappointed.

"Awh, poor little Santiago!" Renata cooed, pinching his cheek.

"Get off dude" he shook her off of him, causing the entire table to burst out laughing, even Jane struggling to suppress a chuckle.

Corin quickly tapped me on the shoulder, and thrusted a massive bucket of popcorn at me as soon as I turned to face her.

"Umm…what's with the popcorn?" I whispered.

"Heidi made some for you, she said that it didn't feel right without the smell of popcorn in the air apparently" she shrugged and skipped back to her seat.

"Tell her I said thanks!" I called, turning back around to the table. The bucket just about fit in my lap and by looking inside, I realised that there were M&Ms stirred in as well. Out of habit, I offered a handful to Renata before remembering that I was in a room full of vampires, before shoving it in my mouth.

"Good?" Afton laughed.

"So good, damn!" I moaned dramatically with my mouth still full, earning an eye roll from Jane. A few chews later, I turned my gaze to Renata.

"So, you're Aro's personal bodyguard?" I asked.

"Yes actually," she scowled at Santiago, "my ability allows me to create a protective shield from any physical attack" she stated proudly.

"Wow, now that's cool-"

Before I could finish, Santiago reached over and took a small pile of M&Ms from the bucket, closing one eye to aim one at the back of Demetri's head. Shockingly, Demetri never saw it coming, as it smashed into tiny pieces on the back of his head, leaving little bits of chocolate in his hair. He instantly snapped around, and his crimson eyes locked on mine as he stormed over, his hands in fists by his sides.

"It wasn't me!" I held my arms up in the air in surrender.

"You are the only one here with food, Eliana" he eyed the giant bucket of popcorn, which probably looked like a dead giveaway.

"I'm not kidding, it was Santiago" I pointed at him.

"Dude!" he exclaimed as he raised his arms at me and I stuck my tongue out at him in response.

At first I panicked, thinking this was going to end in some kind of fight, but instead Demetri simply took the remaining M&Ms out of his hand and smashed them on the top of Santiago's head, pieces of chocolate now tangled in his dark hair, causing gasps and claps from across the room. Before he even had the chance to bite back, Demetri was already sat down, a pleased look on his face.

"You really didn't see that coming?" Jane snorted as Santiago pulled out the remaining food in his hair, piece by piece.

"I'd Watch it, or you'll be next Jane," he warned, lightly dropping a large chunk on top of her head, "and you," he turned his attention to me, "what the hell Eliana?"

I burst out laughing, almost spilling the remaining contents of the bucket over myself. "What are you gonna do about it, huh?" I challenged him, which he didn't have an answer to. To my amusement, apparently being the only human in here does have its advantages after all.

**Author's note: This whole quarantine thing has got me writing this non-stop, so I do apologise if it at all feels like I'm spamming you with new chapters. This whole day in the chronological timeline has been split up into three chunks, so I'm sorry about that, but this whole section of the story is kinda important so…yeah. I hope you enjoyed reading, feel free to review/comment/whatever, and ily!**


	9. Chapter 9

"So, what do you guys want to do now?"

The movie was finally over and the rest of the guard were gone, leaving only me, Afton, and Santiago left in the room. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and glanced at the time, _18:02_, before tipping the bucket of popcorn upside down to empty the rest of the contents into my mouth.

"I honestly don't care dude, but we could always watch another Star Wars movie" Santiago suggested with his legs up on the table, a look of hope on his face.

"You already know my answer to that," I narrowed my eyes at him, "so what rooms does this castle have then?"

"Well, there's the game room, which you've already seen, all of the living quarters, the gardens, the kitchen, the training and fitness room-"

"Fitness room?"

"Yes, usually we use it for combat training, but there is also a general exercising area. We can go if you want" Afton offered.

Come to think about it, I hadn't exercised for a week since I arrived, and it showed. I'd always been a little body conscious, wary of wearing clothing that was too revealing, and I couldn't exactly call myself skinny. Maybe closer to normal sized, but recently I really needed to work out and for once get off of my lazy ass.

"Let's do it then, but we're stopping at my room first" I replied.

"Why?"

I tilted my head at him and gestured to my current outfit; a thin blouse and skinny ripped jeans. Suffice to say I wasn't exactly 'work out ready'.

"Fine," he sighed, "your room and then the training room"

I jumped straight to my feet and skipped to the door, still on a sugar high from the bucket-worth of M&Ms I'd consumed. The other two followed behind me, surprised that I actually knew the way. In fairness, Demetri had led us from my room to the guards' quarters that morning, so it would only make sense if I remembered the way back.

We arrived and I closed the door behind me for privacy before flinging open the doors to my wardrobe. I rummaged through the bottoms, sure that I'd spotted leggings or shorts at some point, before pulling out a pair of black fitness leggings and tossing it over my shoulder. I also managed to find a matching black sports bra, but the amount of midriff it showed made me feel slightly on edge, so I threw on a basic zip-up grey hoodie and a pair of Nike trainers. Mildly satisfied with my appearance, I strutted out of the door, grabbing my iPod from my dresser.

"You ready?" Afton asked.

"Hell yeah, let's go!" I yelled, jumping up in the air. The energy from all those e-numbers and sugar was still cursing through my veins, and I was loving every moment of it. Afton lead the way, me and Santiago left trailing behind.

"Do vampires exercise then, or what?" I asked him.

"Exercise? No, instead we train"

"Isn't that, like, exactly the same thing?" I raised an eyebrow at him.

"_Psh_, not even close dude" he chuckled as we strolled down several flights of stairs. This in itself felt like a workout for me, and I dreaded to think how I was going to make it back up again. Afton unlocked a wooden door, pushing it open to reveal what I would definitely class as a gym, no matter what Santiago says. One wall acted as a mirror, while a bunch of fitness equipment was spread out across the room. I headed over to a large speaker in the corner and plugged in my iPod.

"Eli, no." Afton had his arms crossed behind me.

"Please?" I begged.

"I said no"

"But what if I only play Kelly Clarkson? You like her music, right?" I pleaded.

"Okay, sure" he sighed sarcastically, picking up weights from the middle of the floor.

I started my Kelly Clarkson playlist and went over to hold up a weight, only for it to not budge in the slightest. I even attempted to roll it over, and used the force of my entire body weight to try and move it, but I was convinced that someone had glued it to the floor or something. Santiago spotted me and strolled over, picking it up with ease and returning it to its stand, to which I stared at him in shock.

"How did…?"

"Vampire, remember?" he laughed, holding another weight easily above his head.

"But, how much did that even weigh?"

"Put it by this way, a human couldn't lift a fraction of that weight," he humoured, "especially not one who hates Star Wars"

"Not this again" I sighed.

"Yes, this again. What is wrong with you dude? This is Star Wars. Star Wars I tell you!" he became riled up very quickly.

"Okay, lets break this up, chill out" Afton stepped between us, pushing us both away from each other with the same force, which ended up sending me flying onto the padded ground while Santiago stood unfazed.

"What the hell was that for?" I yelled, which they both found hilarious as he helped me to my feet.

"I didn't realise I was going to push you over!"

"You should've pushed him as well," I said, pointing at Santiago who pulled a fake innocent face, "I mean, why on earth would you push me? What did I do?"

"Be honest though, that was too funny!" he was still in fits of laughter.

"Hilarious," I rolled my eyes, adjusted my hoodie and tied my hair into a quick low ponytail, "now, can we actually do something then?"

"Of course, of course" he dramatically bowed, which he knew pissed me off.

The two of them spent the next hour or two as my 'personal trainers', which I'm convinced they just used as an excuse to vent out all of their frustration at me. As all of the weights were too heavy for me to use, I ended up having to use all of the machines at the lowest settings possible, which even then was still a lot of effort. By the end, I was a hot mess, my previously neat ponytail now full of lumps and my body sweating like a pig. In all honesty though, it was definitely worth it, as I already looked slightly less bloated than I had when I entered.

"I'm out" I dropped onto my back on the floor, still panting for breath.

"Do you want us to leave you here? I'm sure Kelly Clarkson will keep you company" Afton snickered, hovering over me.

"It's fine, I'm coming" I groaned, dramatically rolling myself over and crawling to my feet before grabbing my iPod and following the two of them back out.

I paused at the stairs and sighed, well knowing I wouldn't make it up but, before I even had the chance to complain, Santiago had carried me up to the top and placed me down next to Afton.

"Thanks" I smiled half-heartedly.

"No problem, little dude" he tapped my head in a condescending manner as we walked down the cool hallways in silence. The sun had already set, the candles providing the only source of light in the castle.

"So, do you guys have abilities or anything then?" I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.

"Funny you should mention that"

I turned around expecting Afton to be standing behind me, but he was nowhere to be seen. Spinning around a few times and checking behind a giggling Santiago, I was still confused and fed up of looking for him.

"Where the fuc-"

I screamed as a pair of hands made contact either side of my neck, before he faded back in to view in front of me, now in complete hysterics.

"Y-you, you should've seen your-" he didn't even manage to finish his sentence, gripping onto his sides in an attempt to contain himself as Santiago high-fived him.

"Jesus fucking Christ, why would you do that?" My heart was still beating erratically as I, again, slapped him on the arm which, again, didn't hurt him whatsoever.

"Your face!" was the only wheezed response I received before I spun on my heel and turned around, sick and tired of dealing with that man child.

"Don't take it personally dude," Santiago laughed as he patted me on the shoulder, "he does that to everyone at some point"

"It's pretty cool though I guess, that is, when you're not trying to give me a heart attack" I snapped my head to Afton, who was only now managing to compose himself and have a conversation.

"I wasn't trying to give you a heart attack, you asked for it" he chuckled defensively.

"I didn't ask you to half scare me to death, though"

"No, you asked if I had an ability, which I demonstrated in response to your question"

"Wow, how could I ever thank you, I-"

I paused, just about hearing a somewhat familiar voice coming from a room a few feet away.

"Eli, what are you-"

"Shush!" I hissed, edging closer to the door.

Peering through a small gap where it had been left ajar, I eyed Aro, Caius, and Marcus all sat together in his private library having a heated discussion. Aro had his weight leant back against the desk, before he looked over at the door with immaculate timing and made eye contact with me. Their conversation came to a halt as I squealed, jumping away from the door and bumping into Santiago.

"Did you see something, brother?" I heard Caius ask.

"It is nothing to worry about" Aro answered simply, returning back to their discussion.

"What the hell was that?" Santiago whispered as I swerved around him.

"Aren't you going to go and say hello?" Afton sneered, clearly finding my embarrassment very amusing.

"Definitely not after that" I scoffed.

"Just go in" he urged.

"I said no"

"Why not dude?" Santiago chimed in.

"You too?" I turned to face him, unimpressed, "look, I just don't want to get in their way, that's all"

"They're your mates, Eli"

"So? We've only met a few times in anyway. Besides, their conversation seems important, I don't want to intrude"

I put my arms up, waving them off, and turned around before a pair of hands grabbed my waist from behind and carried me straight into the room at crazy vampire speed, placing me down and closing the door. Damn it, why did Afton have to have that invisibility stuff?

"Afton, you retard!" I yelled at the top of my voice at the closed door, to which he responded with an echoed chuckle.

"Ah, Eliana, it is a pleasure to see you again, _cara mia_!"

I grimaced and turned around slowly to face the kings, all three struggling to take my comment to Afton seriously, causing me to blush. Even Caius had his hand over his mouth, his lips held tightly closed.

"….hey. So, I should maybe go…" I pointed with my thumb towards the door.

"Please do stay,_ il mio amore_. We were simply discussing a trial from earlier today" Marcus looked over at me and patted a space on the sofa between him and Caius. I hesitantly paced over to the sofa before Aro stopped me in my tracks, taking my small hand and cupping it in his.

"Is Afton bothering you in any way, _carissima_?" Caius asked, and I turned my head to face him.

"He would never. He's the most delightful member of the guard!" I laughed sarcastically.

Caius hummed sceptically as Aro let go of my hand and led me over to the sofa. I don't know why, but being around all three of them at once always made me feel the most uncomfortable and on edge, wary of everything I do. I sat down carefully, my right leg curled underneath me, Aro resuming his spot against the desk.

How was your day then?" Aro smiled, crossing his arms over his chest. Why did he seem annoyed?

I leant back against Marcus shoulder and proceeded to tell them about my entire day. If there was one thing I was competent enough to do, it was tell a good story. They listened surprisingly patiently as I rambled on for a few minutes, only pausing my little monologue for air. I pretty much told them everything, except the whole messing up Aro's private office part.

"That is wonderful, _tesoro_. I am pleased to hear you enjoyed yourself" Marcus smiled humbly.

"Yes, about that," Aro added, "when I came into my office shortly after you had eaten your lunch, I noticed that my paperwork, which had previously been organised on my desk, was left in an untidy state in the middle, and a few important documents were left missing. Would you happen to know anything about that, Eliana?"

_Fuck, he's on to me_. His crimson eyes felt like daggers, and my face turned red as I stared timidly at my lap like a toddler being scolded for misbehaving. I shook my head, refusing to look up because if I were to do so, I know I'd give myself away instantly. Caius and Marcus quietly chuckled either side of me. Was I really being that obvious? Aro knelt in front of me, his cold hand rested on my knee.

"Please, do not lie to me Eliana. Do not treat me like a fool" he murmured calmly. I couldn't help it; I looked up and made eye contact with him, his stern face glaring at me. _Why?_

"Okay, fine," I sighed, leaning my head back, "you caught me. I was in here with Chelsea and Corin when I had my lunch"

He tilted his head to the side slightly, clearly expecting more.

"Sorry" I muttered under my breath while looking back down at my lap, too stubborn to actually face him and apologise properly.

He stood up again and leant his back against the desk, crossing his arms in disappointment as he tutted at me and raised an eyebrow. I was really going to get it this time.

"L-look, put it by this way," I attempted to defend myself, "I did _try_ to tidy the desk up again properly, and I warned them that you'd figure it out eventually"

He sighed, his face softening slightly. Maybe today wasn't my time to die.

"I know you did, _cara mia_. But please, in the future, avoid disorganising any of my important belongings" he responded, a small smile playing on his lips.

"I promise, I won't," I sighed of relief, leaning further back into Marcus, "but please don't punish Chelsea or Corin. It wasn't…okay, it was their fault, but I should've stopped it" I pleaded.

He hummed in thought, "I could give them a second chance, just this once" he chuckled.

"Thank you" I beamed at him, placing my right leg across Caius' lap. He seemed unimpressed, not by the fact that I was using him as a footrest, but by the fact that he now had no reason to punish Chelsea or Corin.

"How were the trials then?" I glanced at each of them in turn.

"Uneventful, as per usual. Although, one criminal did decide he was strong enough to pounce at Caius" Marcus chuckled, looking over at the unamused blonde.

"He almost ruined my hair!"

"Your _hair_?" I asked inquisitively.

"For reasons unknown, the fool decided to grab at my hair!" He seethed.

"So blonde, it's offensive" I giggled under my breath.

"Did you want to share something, Eliana?" he turned to glare at me.

"Not at all, I'm sure he was just jealous that your hair's brighter than his future," I remarked, to which he snarled at me, "What crime did he commit then?"

"He had been hunting within the walls of Volterra, but fortunately not for too long before he was reported" Aro informed me, still laughing at my comment about Caius' hair.

"That's a crime?" I drew my eyebrows together.

"Punishable by death" he answered, shrugging one shoulder.

I'd zoned out for the rest of their conversation, which slowly morphed into Italian. Not only because I didn't understand a single word they were saying, but their voices were so melodic and soothing. After a while, a yawn escaped my lips, interrupting their entire discussion.

"It is getting quite late, maybe you should go back to your room to sleep, _il mio amore_" I felt Marcus' chest rumble softly underneath me.

"It's okay, I'm okay" I reassured lazily, untying my hair and blowing it out of my face.

I'd almost forgotten what I was wearing until I looked down to see that I was still in my sports bra and leggings, my hoodie which had been covering my midriff now tied around my waist. It was definitely a little too much cleavage and ass for me to wear around the kings, which was evident by the fact that they seemed to lose track of their thoughts constantly after staring at me. _At least I look hot, apparently_.

"Is she asleep?" I heard Caius ask a few minutes later, reminding me that I'd closed my eyes and probably had dosed off.

"Let us take her back to her room, brother" Marcus' deep voice replied.

In an instant, two cold arms were underneath me, carrying me bridal style out of the door and along the considerably cooler corridors. I curled into their chest in an effort to stay warm, instantly recognising the scent as Caius'. The good thing about vampires is that, while I could've been in this freezing corridor for a few minutes, they can easily zoom long distances in a matter of seconds. Before I'd even realised it, I was lying on my back on my mattress with my eyes still closed, stone cold hands removing my shoes and hoodie, and pulling my duvet over me.

"_Buona notte, cara mia_" a voice that I recognised to be Marcus' whispered as he kissed my forehead and squeezed my hand. I yawned and stretched up before becoming limp, rolling my head slightly to the side.

"_Sogni d'oro_" Caius chuckled at me quietly, pressing his cold lips to my forehead and stroking the side of my face.

"_Dormi bene, il mio piccolo piantagrane_" Aro hummed light-heartedly, placing one hand on my side and another on my shoulder as he kissed my forehead.

The three of them walked out silently and closed the door behind them, leaving me to sleep blissfully as I brushed where they had kissed me with the back of my hand. Maybe everything would work out after all.

**Author's note: I'm back again haha, and with another chapter. Their relationship is becoming so cute ahhh, I really love writing this. By the way, here's some of the translations from Italian (any mistakes are Google Translate's fault, not mine, but feel free to correct them as I don't know a word of Italian)  
Buona notte, cara mia – Good night my dear.  
Sogni d'oro – Sweet dreams  
Dormi bene, il mio piccolo piantagrane – Sleep well, my little troublemaker  
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed reading this. Feel free to leave a review/comment/whatever, as I love hearing feedback. Please stay safe during this whole Coronavirus thing, ily! **


	10. Chapter 10

I was woken up by the sunlight streaming through my window the next morning. My memory of the night before was still a little hazy, but I noticed that I was still in my gym clothes, my hoodie and shoes neatly placed on the floor. I'd had the most peaceful sleep I could remember, without a single nightmare, which was new for me. With this level of motivation, I practically jumped out of bed, my socks causing me to skid across the polished floor and land flat on my ass.

"_Remind me not to do that again_" I murmured to myself under my breath, using the edge of my bed to climb back to my feet.

I paced over to my wardrobe and after almost an hour of endless rummaging, I settled on a plain white t-shirt tucked into a pair of ripped jeans. A knock sounded on the door just as I was brushing my teeth at the sink.

"Who is it?" I attempted to yell, my voice muffled by the white toothpaste that ran down my chin.

"Sir Afton of the Volturi, milady" an embarrassing English accent replied.

I hastily placed my toothbrush back into its cup by the sink and hurried over to the door to fling it open.

"What?" I drew my eyebrows together as Afton snickered at me.

"Toothpaste is a good look for you, you should consider wearing it more often" he snarked, before I wiped it away with my index finger and flicked the remaining droplets at him.

"May I come in then?" he asked, rubbing at the white toothpaste marks left on his cloak.

"I don't see why not," I sighed, throwing the door open and gesturing my arm, "after you ditched me during the Masters' meeting last night"

"Chill, they're your mates…did you not enjoy yourself?" he raised an eyebrow.

"I did, but that's not my point" I snapped.

"What's your point then?"

"My point is, you ditched me in an awkward situation!"

"You made it awkward!"

As if with perfect timing, my phone which lay discarded on my bed began to buzz as I dived across my mattress for it.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Eliana, my beautiful, precious, wonderful baby! How are you?" an overenthusiastic voice exclaimed.

_Mum_.

"Great thanks, yeah" I waved off Afton who was silently rolling around on the floor in hysterical laughter.

"So, tell me, how's Forks treating you?"

Of course, she still thought I was back in the US with the Cullens.

"Forks is great thanks, rainy like always. You know…same old, same old" Afton tilted his head to the side and I responded with a shrug.

"Brilliant, my wonderful, smart, gorgeous pudding. Oh, did you want to talk to Dad?" Before I even had the chance to reply, I heard the muffled silence as the phone was passed over to my Dad.

"Hey pumpkin, how are you?"

All I could think about was just how many of these nicknames Afton would decide to adopt to piss me off further.

"I'm good, I'm good, yeah…" I replied vaguely.

"You seem busy, I'll let you go…your mother says she-"

He was quickly cut off by my mother who'd stolen the phone back from him. At that same time, Chelsea wandered in to join Afton, confused about what the hell was going on.

"I love you baby! Stay safe, and don't take drinks from strangers, and remember to floss, I've told you time and time again!"

I looked over to see that Chelsea was now laughing harder than Afton was, leaning on him in an attempt to get a grip of herself.

"Love you too, mum"

I grimaced and hung up the phone, causing the pair of them to erupt with laughter. Rolling my eyes, I swerved past them and into the bathroom to clean the remaining toothpaste dried around my lips.

"Isn't she lovely?" Chelsea managed to get out, before keeling over onto the floor, Afton hovering over her and both of them struggling to contain themselves.

"A delight," I murmured, sitting back on the edge of my bed, "so, why are you two here then?"

"Oh yes, I almost forgot; I was actually told to escort you down to Masters Caius and Marcus, _'my wonderful, smart, gorgeous pudding'"_ Afton teased, still chuckling lightly.

"They sent me up to see what was taking so long" Chelsea added, grinning at Afton.

"And we're still here because…" I raised an eyebrow, just as Heidi appeared in the doorway.

"The Masters expected Eliana in the garden a whole fifteen minutes ago, and you're here having a friendly catch up" she sighed.

"Great, you've taken so long that I now have three guards who all seem to be failing at their task, their one simple task" I snarked.

Heidi took my arm and led me out of the room, allowing me to only just grab my shoes on the way out.

"I'm not messing up this time" she strode ahead, still gripping onto my arm as I was dragged along like a dog owner with their overly-energetic dog in the park.

"Careful" I hissed as her grip became a little too tight for comfort.

"Oh of course, you're still a human, my mistake!" _Still a human? What's she implying?_

She loosened her grip and instead took my hand, leading me to the same set of wooden doors that Jane and Alec had brought me to a few days ago. Pushing it open with ease, I was lead down a narrow path before we cut across a small field area, stopping under a large oak tree. I removed my hand from my eyes which I'd been using to avoid being blinded by the beating sunlight, and my gaze landed on Caius and Marcus, both of them sat comfortably on the ground, their backs leant against the trunk of the tree.

"Good morning, _carissima_, I see you are still displeased with the thought of wearing shoes" he stared pointedly at my feet, my shoes held in my left hand.

"Thank Heidi for that," I swept my arm over, expecting her to be standing beside me still, "and she's gone" I muttered disappointedly.

"Do come and join us" Marcus gestured to a patch of grass in front of them and I carefully sat down, now clumsily attempting to put on my shoes.

"Did you sleep well?" Caius asked.

"Pretty well, yes, thank you" I smiled, adjusting the laces on my right shoe.

"Allow me, my dear" he leaned over, and my shoe was on and tied in an instant.

"Thank you," I smiled sheepishly, crossing my legs and placing my hands in my lap, "the weather's wonderful" I sighed.

"I agree, the weather conditions are quite admirable at this time of year" Marcus responded.

"Wow, your skin is incredible" I exclaimed a little too enthusiastically, earning a chuckle from both of them as I hesitantly reached out and touched Marcus' forearm. Maybe it was due to their age, but their skin was absolutely stunning, refracting the sunlight in all directions with a much brighter glow than any of the Cullens' had.

"You really think so?" Caius smiled, finding my fascination quite amusing.

"Yes, look, compare your skin to mine"

I moved my exposed arm into the sunlight alongside Caius' much paler, diamond-like one, and the difference was striking.

"Hmm, strange humans" Marcus mused, glancing over at our arms.

"So, the Cullens never really had the chance to explain much to me, but what else can vampires do that makes them so special?"

"Compared to mere humans, we are more flexible, virtually indestructible, much faster and stronger" Caius apparently had a lot of vampire pride. Good on him, honestly.

"How much stronger?"

Before I even had the chance to realise it, Caius was stood up with me held high above his head effortlessly while I squirmed in a fit of screams and giggles. After a few seconds, I felt his hands underneath my back disappear as I flew through the air, still screaming, landing gently in Marcus' arms.

"Jesus, I thought you were going to drop me!" I yelled, my hand over my chest as Marcus continued to hold me horizontally.

"I would never, _tesoro_" he replied, lightly chuckling as he removed his arm from under my knees to allow me back onto my feet.

"What's the heaviest thing you've ever lifted?" I quizzed them as we settled back down under the tree, me now sitting close between them.

"We have been around for thousands of years, and in that time there have been many objects with an incredibly large mass," Marcus explained, "however, I have seen some lift items as heavy as trains before"

"Trains? You've got to be kidding."

"And that is what deems humans inferior to us" Caius adds proudly.

"Well, maybe we humans are inferior physically. However, and correct me if I am mistaken, but vampires cannot reproduce with other vampires, correct? So, surely the only way to ever grow the population would be through humans?"

"You are forgetting that we are immortal, _il mio amore_, expanding the vampire population is not necessary"

"But you wouldn't exist if it wasn't for humans, no? I mean, you _were_ human thousands of years ago"

"And now we are immortal, with much more power and strength than imaginable. What is your point?"

I could see that this was a losing battle, so I decided to cut my losses and give up.

"Fine, you win, vampires are more powerful, humans are inferior and shameful" I sighed sarcastically, dramatically waving my arms.

"Correct" Caius smirked smugly, evidently pleased with himself.

"But surely there are some disadvantages of being immortal, right?" I twisted myself so I was lying on my back, my legs leant up against the oak tree.

"There are none whatsoever" he was quick to defend himself, to which I hummed in disbelief.

"Nothing? I mean, doesn't it get boring?"

"The immortal lifestyle could never bore me" he answered in a serious tone despite the sarcastic manner of his reply.

"What about Marcus?" I asked as his attention snapped to me, "He looks bored. No offence or anything"

"None taken," he chuckled, "but do keep in mind that we have been around for-"

"Thousands of years, I remember," I interrupted, which earned a slight glare from him, "but do you ever wish you were human again?"

"You seem to enjoy asking questions, _carissima_" Caius remarked.

"I'm just curious, that's all," I paused for a beat, "what's it like not being able to cry?"

Much to my amusement, the pair of them were relatively patient while I interrogated them on pretty much everything to do with vampires, although Caius did wince slightly and seemed reluctant to answer when I asked about other supernatural creatures like werewolves. I was sat comfortably for maybe half an hour or so, until I leapt up onto my feet, hiding behind Marcus.

"What is it?" he asked, concerned about my sudden panic.

"It's a wasp, I don't like wasps, get it away from me!" I whined, ducking further behind him.

"_Carissima_, it's just a wasp, it will not hurt you" Caius chuckled.

"But they sting, and they- _holy shit_!"

I ran around to the other side of the tree as the wasp flew closer to me, now grabbing on to Caius' arm for dear life.

"Stop moving, _tesoro_, just stay still and it will fly away. If not, maybe it will decide to consume you instead" Marcus teased, but now was really not the time, as I pulled myself closer to Caius and whimpered.

I heard a faint buzzing near my ear and panicked embarrassingly again, squealing and burying my head in Caius' jacket until the wasp eventually got bored of harassing me and disappeared.

"It is gone, _carissima_" he laughed, patting me on the shoulders and sitting me back in my original spot with ease.

"Are you sure?" I looked around me, hyper-alert.

"I am certain," Marcus assured, pulling me closer to him, "why do you have a fear of wasps, Eliana?"

"All insects are terrifying, they're just so weird and creepy, and they have stingers and long legs, ugh," I cringed, "don't get me started"

"If you say so" he laughed, Caius also finding my fear quite amusing.

They both stood to their feet, Marcus taking my hands and pulling me up, before Caius placed a firm hand on the small of my back and walked me towards the castle.

"Where are we going?" I questioned, looking up at each of them. Damn, why do they have to be so tall?

"Indoors" Caius smiled.

"That way, we will all be safe from the wasps" Marcus added, the two of them chuckling amongst each other.

"Hey, at least you don't get stung by them. You're too… invincible" I defended myself.

"Too invincible? You would prefer to be easily stung by insects then?"

"No, just don't tease me about it" I turned my nose up at them and crossed my arms over my chest.

"At least we now have an easy punishment for you in case you decide to cause any problems" he remarked.

"I'm a delight, I don't know what you're on about" I exclaimed, which both of them seemed to find hilarious. Hmm, the nerve.

**Author's note: Welcome back snacks! So I wrote another chapter, yay! In all fairness though, I relate to Eli's fear of insects on a spiritual level. Any who, I hope you enjoyed reading this new little bit, be sure to leave a comment/review/whatever, and ily!**


	11. Chapter 11

Marcus held a large, fragile hardback book in his hand as he read the gentle words out loud in Italian. I curled myself into left Caius' side, hugging his arm as my head rested on his shoulder, while Marcus had his right arm wrapped around my waist. The warmth the fireplace provided almost caused me to dose off, the daylight visible through the window now covered by a thick layer of grey storm clouds.

"Carissima" my muffled brain heard Caius whisper.

I sat up straight quickly, brushing my hair out of my face with my hand. "Hmm?"

"You were falling asleep" he murmured lightly.

"Why? What time is it?" The weather really threw off my awareness of the time, the sky darkening by the minute.

"It is only one o'clock in the afternoon, _il mio amore_" Marcus replied after glancing over at a small clock sat on one of the bookshelves in the corner of the room.

"Oh, really? Are you sure it isn't the evening?" I drew my eyebrows together and turned my head to gaze out of the window. Clearly Italy just didn't think I deserved warm weather.

"Are you questioning our time-keeping abilities?" Caius tilted his head down and raised an eyebrow at me.

"No, not at all" I laughed awkwardly, attempting to sit up straight but falling straight back into Caius' side.

"Are you hungry, _tesoro_?" Marcus asked, gently pulling my arms to help me sit up straight.

"Um, I guess I could eat" I smiled.

Before anyone had even had the chance to request any food, Jane was stood in front of us, quickly bowing to Caius and Marcus. Had she been listening to our whole conversation?

"Jane, please bring Eliana some lunch from the kitchens, my dear" Marcus ordered, before Jane nodded her head and left as quickly as she had come.

"How many languages do you speak?" I asked, staring at the complex-looking Italian book in awe.

"English, Italian, Greek, Spanish, French, Russian, Mandarin Chinese, and many more" Caius stated simply.

"Well then, you've got to help me with my Chinese at some point. I have my final exam in a few months, and I'm failing epically" I laughed.

"You speak Mandarin Chinese?" he asked.

"Yes, well, no, well, not well." I stuttered.

"Oh…"

I didn't catch the rest of his sentence as he was speaking quick fluent Chinese. _What's yes in Chinese? Can I just say that? Wow, I need to listen more in class_. Caius turned to look at my blank, expressionless face and sighed.

"I am going to assume you did not understand a word of what I just said" he rested his head in his right hand.

"What did I tell you? I don't speak Chinese well at all" I answered.

"Try to say anything, _tesoro_, any sentence" Marcus gave me an encouraging nudge.

"Okay then, um, 每天 我吃炒面" I hesitated all the way through.

Both of them gave me the same bemused expression, making my face turn bright red. My teacher had always reminded me of my 'appalling pronunciation', and now I saw why.

"You eat fried noodles every day?" Caius asked. At least he was able to hear and translate that.

"You did tell me to say 'any sentence', so I did" I defended. Food was the last topic we had covered in class before spring break, so it was currently all I could remember.

Marcus chuckled and shook his head just as Jane walked in with a steaming bowl of tomato soup on a wooden tray.

"Thanks Jane" I smiled as she handed me the tray which I placed on my lap. She quickly bowed and nodded her head at me before dashing out of the door again.

"You have very close friendship bonds with the guard, Eliana" Marcus observed, staring into the distance as if studying something closely while I held the bowl of soup close to my chin.

"Really? I didn't think they liked me" I drew my eyebrows together.

"Not at all, they do seem to enjoy your company, Jane being a prime example"

Jane? As in the girl who reluctantly opened my window for me before rolling her eyes, and shushed us during the guards' movie night?

"Are you sure about that?" I questioned, my face lighting up slightly at the thought of actually having some friends around here.

"I am absolutely certain. You seem to have friendship bonds connecting you to many other guard members. Some are stronger than others, yours with Afton, Chelsea, and Santiago glowing the brightest" he responded, Caius growling slightly at their names.

"Something wrong?" I turned myself around to face him.

"Nothing, _carissima_" he stated. Was he…jealous?

"So, you can see all types of bonds between people?" I asked, swallowing a spoonful of soup.

"Yes, that is how I discovered the true mate bond between you and us" he replied.

"Hmm, that's pretty rad" I pointed out, placing my empty bowl on the coffee table in front of the sofa, which is kind of ironic considering vampires don't drink coffee.

Caius picked up the book that had been put down earlier and continued reading it out loud. I leant back against Marcus' chest, listening to the soft whistling of the wind outside. Curled up comfortably for a few hours, I hadn't even noticed Aro standing above me.

"You seem tired, _cara mia_" he pointed out, startling me as he circled around to the front of the sofa.

"Tired? Nah, I'm fine" I yawned, stretching my arms above me and arching my back as I sat up straight.

"If that is the case, how would you mind going for a stroll with me, Eliana?" he asked, offering his hand.

"Gladly" I giggled, tightly hugging Caius and then Marcus before placing my hand in Aro's larger one.

He led me out of the room and I waved awkwardly before closing the door behind us. The sky was still dark, an imminent storm brewing over the horizon. We strolled down the corridor virtually in silence before we arrived at the wooden door which led out to the castle gardens. Looking through the window beside it, I noticed the rain was steadily falling onto the pavement below.

"Aro, it's raining" I held back, not exactly in the mood to come back inside drenched.

With that, he pulled an umbrella out from an umbrella stand which I hadn't ever noticed was there before.

"That is not an issue, dear" he smiled, gently pulling me outside by the hand and opening up the umbrella.

The rain fell consistently as Aro held the umbrella above our heads, my hand still in his. I shivered, a sharp breeze freezing my skin, which made me realise I wasn't wearing a coat.

"Are you cold, _cara mia_?" he asked with genuine concern while I hugged myself closer to him in an attempt to warm myself up.

"Not too much, don't worry about me" I reassured, the shiver audible in my voice.

"I will never stop worrying about you" he chuckled lightly, steering us to a wooden bench near the tree I'd sat at earlier that day. I leant into him as he held me under his warm jacket, his arm around my shoulders.

"How has your day been?" he asked as I felt the soft hum in his chest.

"It's been good, yeah. You?"

"Uneventful. I had many vital meetings scheduled in for this morning, so unfortunately I was not allowed any time to spend with you" he smiled endearingly, gently rubbing my shoulder.

"You didn't miss much, although you did miss me running away from a wasp earlier" I laughed.

"I am sure that was very entertaining to witness" he chuckled.

"I didn't think so, but apparently it was"

"Almost as entertaining as the toothpaste you had around your mouth this morning" he added humorously, but I didn't respond.

"How did you know about the toothpaste around my mouth this morning?" I drew my eyebrows together. _Did Afton tell him? What a snitch._

He went silent, staring down at the ground. I knew he was clearly refusing to tell me something, his guilt-ridden face hidden away from view.

"Aro?" I asked again, waiting for a response.

"Eliana, there is something I have been meaning to tell you. Something I should have informed you of a while ago" he turned himself around to me and gazed into my eyes, the umbrella still held above our heads.

"What is it?" I sat up and brushed his hand before he pulled it away, placing it in his pocket.

"When I was transformed," he breathed in sharply, "I developed the ability of tactile telepathy. This allows me to read and memorise every thought and memory a person has ever had with a single touch, as I have done with you"

I shuffled away from him in shock, turning away from his gaze. He'd been reading my mind this entire time?

"You w…what?" I gasped.

"I know what you're thinking-"

"No. No, you don't know what I'm thinking, and I wish you never knew. What made you think that it's okay to read and see all of my private thoughts and emotions without telling me?" my voice became increasingly angered, "If I wanted you to know anything you've apparently seen, I would've told you myself. But _no_, instead you decide it better to find out yourself, letting yourself in to every thought I've ever thought and every feeling I've ever felt"

I was now stood up away from him with my hands in tight angered fists, the rain soaking my hair and clothes.

"Eliana, I would never want to intrude on anything" he pleaded, stepping closer to me as I took a step further back.

"But you did. You now know everything about me, _everything_. Do you just not understand the idea of privacy? You decided to let yourself into my private life, learning and remembering everything tiny detail about me, every little secret I've ever had, every celebrity crush I've ever had, every single fucking emotion I've ever felt!" I yelled, tears beginning to pool in my eyes.

"Please, Eliana" he stood two or so feet from me with a desperate expression, his hands still in his pockets.

"Get away from me!" I attempted to push him back, but he didn't move an inch while I stumbled back from the momentum. He seemed to be angered at my response, the corner of his lip twitching as he towered above me.

"Eliana, listen to me right now-"

"No, you listen!" I interrupted, deathly glaring at him, "I've been nothing but compliant here. I agreed to stay in this goddamn castle with you, I broke up with my boyfriend to be with you, I even promised to move here after school! And this whole time, this whole entire _fucking_ time, you thought it best not to tell me that you've invaded all of my personal thoughts. What the hell is wrong with you Aro?! Did you honestly think, even for a second, that I would be okay with this?! That I would gladly agree to you knowing absolutely every detail, every embarrassing detail, about me?! I can't believe I was ever stupid enough to want to be with you!"

Silence hung in the air between us, Aro left completely lost for words. I didn't want to face him anymore, didn't want to be anywhere near him or his ability. With that, I turned around and ran indoors, hot tears streaming down my face as I flung the door to the castle open and slammed it behind me. I ran down the corridors confusedly, my tears clouding up my vision. Fortunately, I did remember where my room was, running at full speed and avoiding any sign of anyone nearby. After a few metres however, I bumped into Felix, his grip on my arm stopping me in my tracks.

"Eli, where are you going?" he asked worriedly, noticing the mascara that now ran down my face and my wet hair that clung to my skin.

"Just let me go" I yanked myself away from him and he removed his hold of me, turning around to watch me as I ran back down the corridor and dived into my bedroom, loudly slamming the door closed.

I slid down the door, melting down into a pool of tears as I sobbed hysterically. My throat felt dry throughout my loud cries, my face hidden in my arms. Eventually gathering enough willpower, I stood up, heading over to my bathroom before a sharp pain shot out from my heart through my entire body, causing me to collapse in the middle of the floor. It was a pain I'd never felt before, as if all of the blood in my body had been drained out of me. I cried out in agony, but the pain left as quickly as it came, allowing me to achingly crawl back onto my feet and stumble to the bathroom.

I leant against the sink to support my exhausted body, looking up at the mirror to see the state I'd left myself in. My red-rimmed eyes were full of tears, my clothes soaked through to my skin, my hair sat in a tangled mess. Running the warm water out of the tap, I cleaned my face, the warmth causing pins and needles across my skin. I removed my jeans, changing out of my wet t-shirt into a dry one, and climbed into my bed and under the covers.

Never had I felt such a feeling of self-loathing in my entire life. I'd just irrationally screamed at someone who only ever wanted the best for me, who only kept his ability from me in fear of my reaction. And for good reason; I blamed him for everything, I made his entire ability, his entire being, seem his fault. His ability can't be helped, he can't help knowing what he knows, but I convinced myself that he is the only one to blame, the only one at fault. My tears had now dried, leaving me shaking in the eerie silence.

A gentle knock sounded on the door, and Jane opened it to let herself in.

"Master Aro has requested to come in" she spoke softly, a subtle feeling of sympathy in her voice.

I shook my head, turning over and pulling my duvet closer to me. It went against every gut instinct to reject him, everything within me wanting to give in to him, to hold him close to me. A few minutes later, Jane reappeared again, leaning against the door.

"Master Aro would very much like to come in" she murmured quietly.

"No." I spoke, before biting my lip in pain. A similar pain to before, but not quite as excruciating, shot through my chest.

Jane nodded disappointedly before disappearing again, gently closing the door behind her. She came in again one last time a few minutes later, the tone of her voice becoming slightly more desperate.

"Master Aro would like to come in, Eli"

I turned my head to face the ceiling, taking in a sharp breath.

"Tell Aro I said no" I whispered, my throat still dry from my tears.

The shooting pain returned for a split second, causing me to dig my nails into the palms of my hands to avoid crying out. Jane sighed, leaving again and closing the door. I turned over to face away from the door, my bare legs curled up underneath me. I gently closed my eyes, my body begging for rest, but my mind wouldn't let me sleep, insomnia ruling through my head. The same thoughts continuously ran over my conscience. Why had I lost my temper like that? Why had I blamed, screamed at, Aro, who only ever wanted the best for me? I felt my heartbeat throbbing in my head and longed for the pain to be over.

During one of my endless attempts at sleeping, Aro's voice whispered from behind me.

"Eliana?"

I refused to turn around, my guilt taking over all of my actions. He placed his hand gently on my bare arm, and I almost pulled away, before I realised there was fabric between our skins. He gently ran a gloved hand through my slightly damp hair, his other hand on my shoulder as he whispered in my ear.

"I am so incredibly sorry. I should have told you sooner. I never should have violated you like that. Please forgive me, _il mio amore_"

I couldn't bear to hear him like that, to listen to him blame himself for my own temper, for my own fuck up. A single warm tear ran down my cheek, quietly landing on my pillow. Aro gently placed his hands on my shoulders and rolled me onto my back, carefully wiping another tear away with his thumb.

"Please do not cry, Eliana"

"It's all my fault" I whispered, staring at the ceiling rather than making eye contact with him as another tear ran down my face.

"Do not blame yourself"

"But it is. I should've never blamed you. I should never have lost my temper at you, made you feel like somehow you are the one to blame for all of this" my gaze returned to his crimson eyes as he shook his head and quietly hushed me, his finger tracing delicately down my collar bone.

"Nothing I said was true," I insisted, "none of it. I haven't been here for long at all but I've loved every moment of it. Being here with you, I felt a feeling of joy I've never felt before. You're honestly my world and I don't know what I'd do without you-"

My sentence was interrupted when Aro captured my lips with his, kissing me delicately. I was slightly taken aback at first, which he seemed to instantly notice as he carefully pulled away, but instead I placed my hands on the back of his head and pulled him closer, pressing my lips against his while running my fingers through his still rain-soaked hair. He kissed me back gently, taking his time as he ran his hand carefully along the side of my face. Once I eventually had to pull away for air, I took Aro's hands and held them in mine, now noticing that he was on top of me, his weight rested on his elbows. I carefully took off the black leather gloves he'd decided to wear, not that it mattered in any way as he'd already seen my recent thoughts through our kiss.

"It is okay, _cara mia_, you don't have to" he whispered.

"Jesus, please don't wear these anymore"

I studied them quickly before tossing them across the room where they landed by the door. Aro glanced at them over his shoulder before gazing back at me, a smile playing on his lips as he chuckled lightly slipped under the duvet beside me. His cool hands rested on my back while I pressed the side of my face against his chest.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so, so sorry Aro" I whispered, my voice still raspy as I blinked back another tear.

He shushed me quietly, pressing kisses to the top of my head, "Stop apologising, _cara mia_"

We laid in silence, the only sound in the room was our breathing as Aro rubbed circles on my back and rocked me gently.

"So," I tilted my head up to look at him, "were you the one who decided on getting me a new iPod then?"

"Of course, my brothers would not have ever thought of it," he chuckled, "but you tossing your previous one out of your bedroom window was quite entertaining to see"

"I didn't toss it, it fell!" I insisted, which he didn't seem to believe.

"If you say so" he grinned, his cold hands landing on the exposed skin on my back.

"But you left off the song 'My Neck, My Back'" I added humorously.

"I did list it down, however Caius crossed it out and refused to let you listen to it" he shrugged.

"I wonder how he's even heard that song before" I laughed at the thought of Caius secretly dancing to pop music in his quarters when no one is around, which Aro chuckled at too.

"Considering I was, in fact, your very first kiss," he began, while I shuffled upwards to rest my head on the pillow beside him, "does that render me your favourite mate?"

Of course he was going to use a moment like this to boost his own ego, but instead of giving him any response, I rolled my eyes and buried my head in the crook of his neck as he ran his fingers through my hair, humming in contentment and… purring?

**Author's note: Kinda an angsty chapter here, but I felt that the subject of Aro's ability needed to be brought up at some point, considering Eli doesn't have a shield or anything. It's really weird but I swear whenever I write fight scenes etc. I always feel really depressed and upset, idk why lmao. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading this, be sure to leave a review/comment/whatever, stay safe, and ily!**


	12. Chapter 12

"Good morning, _cara mia_"

My eyes fluttered open to I realise I was laying on my front with my face pressed up against something cold, my legs either side of me. I lifted my head wearily and my eyes locked on a pair of crimson ones, making me jump out of my skin and duck my head. Aro chuckled, his arms wrapped tightly around my waist holding me down against him while the duvet was draped over us.

"How long was I asleep for?" I murmured into his shirt. That night, I'd had a combination of really weird ass dreams involving the Teletubbies and Spongebob Squarepants, which Aro was sure to have seen.

"You fell asleep at around seven last night, so about thirteen hours" he answered. _Thirteen hours?_

I went to get up, stretching my shoulders back, but Aro kept a firm grip around my waist, holding me down to him.

"May I ask, what on _earth_ was that I witnessed in your dream last night?" he asked with a hint of amusement.

"Um… the Teletubbies?" I shrugged. In my dream, the Teletubbies had been part of some kind of demonic satanic cult that aimed to turn the world into spaghetti. _God, I need help_.

"And the yellow sponge?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, Spongebob, yeah, he was trying to defeat the satanic Teletubbies" I explained, hearing how mentally unstable I must've seemed to him.

"I remain just as confused as I was last night" he rolled his eyes and laughed.

"Oi, that was quality viewing and you know it. If anything, you should be thanking me" I laughed, rolling off of him onto my back.

Just as I went to push the duvet away from me, I realised that I was still only wearing a t-shirt and underwear after what happened last night. I jumped out of bed and pulled my t-shirt down to cover myself, but fortunately it was oversized in anyway, so it wasn't a massive issue. Noticing the sunshine beaming through the window, I picked up a denim skirt, underwear, and a baby pink tank top from a pile of clothes I'd left in the corner before walking over to the bathroom to shower.

"Do you need assistance in showering by any chance?" Aro asked cheekily from across the room, still lying on my bed with his hands behind his head.

"Oh Aro" I tutted, rolling my eyes and walking into the bathroom.

"Eliana that did not answer my question" he called after me, while I locked the bathroom door behind me in response. _The nerve of some vampires_.

Running the hot water, I stepped into the shower and attempted to wash out what looked like mud or twigs or something out of my hair. This last week had been…weird to say the least. Hell, I'd only known these people for a few days, and now I'd just woken up after making out with Aro Volturi, Aro _fucking_ Volturi. I didn't know what came over me because, in any other scenario like that, I would never have kissed him back, let alone fallen asleep straddled on top of him. Damn, I was falling for these people way faster than I would ever usually be comfortable with…but was that necessarily a bad thing? I mean, Marcus did say that they are my 'true mates' i.e. my 'destiny' lies with them, blah blah blah, so surely I would've ended up with them in anyway. Dear god, mates are confusing.

I stepped out and looked at myself in the mirror. I'd never exactly been ashamed of my body, but I wasn't really one to expose much skin. That was one of the reasons I hated the beach; swimsuits. Last summer, Alice had tried to get me to go shopping with her to buy me a new swimsuit and, to give her credit, the ones she chose out were gorgeous, but I just hated myself in them, hated seeing my body in them. In the end, we left without any swimsuits, but she had gotten excited over a bunch of sundresses, so we didn't exactly arrive back empty-handed.

Hastily tossing on my underwear, skirt and top before fastening the same star necklace I'd worn a few days before around my neck, I wrapped my hair in a towel to dry it and walked back into my room. To my surprise, Aro was no longer there, but instead Afton was sat in the same armchair as usual, nosing around on my iPod.

"Hey Eli, how was your fight, I mean night?" _Jesus, how quickly does word spread around here?_

"My 'night' was fine, thanks" I answered, unimpressed, while I strolled over and dumped the pile of clothes I'd been carrying into my laundry basket by the door.

"Is that really it? Come on, tell me something juicy" he seemed so damn excited, wow.

"Juicy?" I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Yeah, 'spill the tea sis'" he added, sounding like a twelve year old girl.

"Fine, as long as you promise to never use that phrase again. It's just embarrassing"

I proceeded to tell him a watered-down version of pretty much everything that happened, and he seemed genuinely excited that I'd had my first kiss.

"Yes Eli! Oh my god, you guys make such a good couple, I knew it!"

"Jesus Afton, you sound like Chelsea" I remarked, to which he simply shrugged his shoulders. Who was I to judge? That man baby was living his best life, and that's fine by me.

"So, what're you doing today?" he asked, turning on 'SexyBack' by Justin Timberlake.

"I don't know, I was thinking to wander around for a while and see if I can actually learn to navigate this castle by myself" I responded, now twerking to the music like some kind of retarded chicken.

'_I'm your slave,  
I'll let you whip me if I misbehave,'_

"Talk about embarrassing" he mumbled into his hand as he facepalmed in the corner.

"You're just jealous that your dancing doesn't come close to mine" I snarked, doing an over-the-top slut-drop perfectly on beat.

"Please stop" he sounded exasperated, rolling his head back and staring at the ceiling.

"Fine, fine, you buzz-kill"

I finished towel-drying my hair, chose out a pair of white Dr Martens boots and strolled out, leaving Afton sitting there with the music still blaring out through the hallways.

'_I'm bringin' sexy back,  
Them other fuckers don't know how to act_,'

"Eli, where are you going?" he called after me.

"I literally just said I'm wandering around the castle!" I yelled down the corridor while walking backwards.

"Wait up at least!" he turned off the music and zoomed up to materialise beside me, "do you even know where you're going?"

"No, that's the whole point, were you even listening Afton?" I scoffed, before turning down a darkened corridor, "where does this lead-"

"That's the dungeons, I'm sure the Masters wouldn't be pleased about you being down there with all of the rogue vampires" he grabbed my arm, steering me away and down the opposite corridor.

"Alright then, where does this lead?" Afton had let go of my arm and was now trailing behind me, allowing me to go where I pleased.

"These are all offices," he gestured to a few doors on the left, "there's a small library over there," he pointed to a room on the right, "the rest of them are guest rooms," he swept his hand across the rest of the rooms, "and up the stairs on the right is Master Marcus' quarters. Master Aro's is up the stairs on the left and Master Caius' is down this corridor" he pointed down a corridor between two meeting rooms with a window at the end. No wonder that corridor felt so familiar.

"How many guest bedrooms can anyone possibly need?" I asked in bewilderment at the fifteen or so bedrooms lined up along the right side.

"We occasionally have large parties of guests who stay between a few days and a few months, depending on the purpose of their visit" he explained, leading me up a spiral staircase near the library.

"So…but my room isn't with the rest of the guest rooms" I noticed.

"Well, yours isn't a guest room. Did your mates not say?" he chuckled.

"It's not?"

"No. Once they had confirmed that you were who they thought you were, they had a room set up for you with a wardrobe and everything. Why do you think there are clothes in your size in your wardrobe? And make up in your shade on your dresser?"

"I don't know, I just assumed I was borrowing clothes and make up or something"

"Eli, those are yours" he shook his head and laughed as we arrived at the landing of another damn floor.

"What do you mean, those are mine? How are they in my size? And shade?" I was beyond confused at this point.

"What did you just fight about with Master Aro last night?" he reminded me.

_Fuck I'm slow._

"Oh!" I exclaimed slowly, earning another laugh from Afton.

"These rooms all serve different purposes: cinema, kitchen," he opened each door one at a time before closing it again, "another kitchen for some reason, Felix insisted on there being a party room and Heidi really pulled through," he opened the door to a room with loads of coloured LED lights and a disco ball hanging from the ceiling, "a bunch of houseplants but I really don't know why so don't bother asking me, studying room, swimming pool, hot tub, and finally, dance studio"

"Dance studio?" I really missed going to dance, and I probably would've gone in and started dancing if it wasn't for my outfit.

"Yeah, Chelsea used to dance in here all the time with Corin" he peered in and shrugged before closing the door.

"Hmm, I've got to drag them in with me at some point" I mused, following Afton back down the staircase we came from and down a different corridor.

"I think you've been down here a few times, nothing special. There's a few private offices including Master Aro's, the game room which you've seen, and the guard's quarters are all up there. The main kitchen used is down there," he pointed to the kitchen I'd used two days before, "just down there is the throne room, the same area but down the opposite corridor is the feeding room which also happens to have thrones in it, and the main entrance doors are upstairs, but you can get to it using the annoying lift that plays opera music"

"Yeah, why is that?" I asked.

"Who the hell knows at this point? It was probably Alec's idea to piss off Jane, he seems to love getting in that elevator with her just to laugh at how irritated she gets"

"Hmm, makes sense," I agreed, "What music does Jane listen to?"

"I walked in to her quarters once to find her lying on her stomach on her couch listening to Taylor Swift, but she just gave me pain, literally, and closed the door"

"Geez, that's harsh, but quite funny though. Who would've ever guessed?" I chuckled as we wandered towards the gardens.

Santiago instantly materialized a few feet in front of me, making me fall back and hit the hard ground on my ass in fright.

"What the fu- SANTIAGO!"

He burst out laughing and high-fived Afton, "Loosen up dude, there's no need to be so on-edge"

I scowled at him as took my wrists to help me stand to my feet, giving me a quick once-over just to check that he hadn't injured me or anything, as that could mean certain death for him.

"They need you in the training room, Afton. Something about your ability that they want to test out" he spoke, his arms by his sides. Why did that guy always have such an angry demeanour?

"You know the way back Eli. If you get lost, just yell and someone will show you to your room" he called as he began back down the corridor with Santiago in tow.

"What do I yell?"

"I don't know, 'I'm lost'? Whatever you want, no one cares, you do you!"

With that, they both disappeared, leaving me standing there awkwardly. In the end I decided to continue to the garden by myself, hoping that I wouldn't have to call out for help like some kind of ridiculous damsel in distress. I pushed open the familiar door into the open and took in a deep breath of fresh air. Being cooped up inside was not fun, I can tell you that much.

It didn't seem like anyone was around, leaving me to absent-mindedly wander around the grounds like a daydreaming child. This whole area was like something out of a fairytale, and I'd never seen a garden this well kept before in my life. I accidentally got splashed slightly by one of the sprinklers but, thanks to the sunny weather, I dried off quickly. There was even a little garden with loads of fresh fruit growing. Grabbing a handful of raspberries and shoving them in my mouth before wiping my hands on my skirt, I spun around to head back inside, colliding with something tall and cold.

"I see you found the raspberry bush" he laughed, as I backed up to notice that I'd just quite literally walked straight into Marcus.

"Oh, hey Marcus" I smiled timidly, wiping the excess raspberry juice from around my mouth. _Eli, why are you like this?_

"How has your morning been, _il mio amore_?" he asked, taking my hand and walking alongside me.

"It's been okay, Afton showed me around the whole castle thing you've got going on here" I wildly gestured to the looming building in front of us, earning a chuckle from Marcus.

"I do hope it is up to your standard"

"You know," I began, "my room on its own is about the same size of the downstairs of my house back at home" I laughed, and I wasn't even exaggerating. The room I'd been given was massive, with way too much space for one person.

"Only for you," he smiled, leading me back over to the tree we'd been at the day before, "Are you and Aro on better terms then?"

"You heard, huh?" I stared at the ground, still annoyed at myself.

He hummed a response, his arm encircling my waist.

"I just couldn't stay mad at him, you know?" I giggled, thinking back to how quickly I caved in to him.

"No one can," he chuckled in agreement, sitting me beside him under the shade of the tree, before pausing for a few seconds, "Aro was your first kiss?"

"Oh yeah, that, he kinda just… sweet-talked his way into it" I replied with an awkward laugh. I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel bad. Trying to divide your time and love equally between three mates is way harder than you'd think.

"In that case, may I say you look absolutely stunning today, _tesoro_" he murmured, leaning close to me, a playful smile on his lips. He knew exactly what he was going for here.

"Mhm," I crossed my arms over my chest, jokingly narrowing my eyes at him, "_tesoro_?"

"It means treasure in Italian, or it is also used as a general term of endearment" he answered simply.

"I should really keep a dictionary of all of these flirty Italian terms you use" I joked.

"Would you prefer it if we solely used your full name when referring to you?"

"Oh no, I love it. It's like I'm living in some kind of romance film" I remarked.

"Anything for you, _bellissima_"

"You're lucky I'm falling for you this quickly"

With that, I spontaneously pulled him down to my height and leant into him, pressing my lips against his with my arms wrapped around his neck. I didn't know what came over me to make such a rash decision like that, and I was about to pull away and apologise, but he kissed me back with earnest, his cold lips moving gently against mine. His fingers delicately ran through my hair as the kiss became deeper, more passionate. The taste of him was addictive, and I wanted to never pull away, to stay in this moment forever. Stopping to catch my breath, he continued to trail soft kisses down my jaw and onto my neck before his lips met back with mine while he carefully pulled me onto his lap.

"I keep forgetting that today's my last day" I mumbled while fiddling with his tie, my legs extended out with my ankles crossed over each other.

"Of course, how long will you be in Forks for?" he murmured into my hair, his hand gently rested on my thigh.

"A week. I'll be going back to Forks again later for Bella and the rest of the Cullens' graduation," I explained, before pausing for a moment, "Just to clarify, you don't have any slightly invasive abilities like Aro's that you're keeping secret from me, right?"

"None, my only ability is my bond sight, _il mio amore_" he reassured light-heartedly.

"And Caius?"

"Caius doesn't have an ability, Eliana. To his credit, he is an excellent fighter" he replied.

"Oh…you learn something new every day" I shrugged. Considering the Volturi were mostly known for collecting vampires with abilities to join the guard and all that jazz, Caius not having one seemed a little bizarre to me.

"I'm going to miss being around here with you crazy people" I sighed.

"And I will miss you too," he laughed at my comment, hugging me tighter to him, "but we will call every day"

"You'd better" I humoured, resting my forehead against his cool chest and breathing in his calming scent.

**Author's note: My friends made me get the houseparty app on my phone but I'm refusing to open it because I'm too antisocial and talking to them seems like too much effort. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, her time in Volterra is coming to a closeeee but don't worry because she'll be back soon enough ;) I hope you enjoyed reading this, be sure to leave a review/comment/whatever and I'll probably be back with another chapter tomorrow knowing me haha. Ily!**


	13. Chapter 13

Having finished making out with two of the Volturi leaders in the space of twenty four hours, I only had one to go. _God, what has my life come to?_

I strolled down the silent corridors, my heavy footsteps echoing off of the stone walls. Considering this was my last day, I wasn't exactly feeling very…emotional? Part of me hoped that I'd bump into Caius because I hadn't seen that little albino bunny in a while, but instead I decided to head up to the guards' quarters and see if there was anyone around there. Opening the door hesitantly, I walked in and closed it behind me, turning around to see the room almost as full as it was during movie night. There were only maybe ten or fifteen guard members missing yet the whole room was still bustling.

"Eli!"

I turned around and spotted Chelsea and Corin, who both decided to run at me from either side and hug me a little too tight considering the fact that I was human.

"Too tight, let go please" I managed to wheeze out as they stepped back to let the oxygen flow back to my brain.

"We're going to miss you lots, and we still haven't gone on our group shopping trip!" Corin held my hand and squealed.

"We can still go soon I guess, it's not like I'm not leaving forever" I assured, trying to channel my inner teenage girl by showing a sense of false enthusiasm.

"If you were, I think I'd cry. That is, if I could" Chelsea added, before they both decided it a good idea to suffocate me again with a deathly embrace and then drag me around the room to say goodbye to people.

In that next half an hour or so, I'd only made it halfway across the room as the two of them are apparently very easily distracted. I even managed to meet a few new people I hadn't met before, all with varying strengths, abilities, and levels of sanity.

"I would say goodbye to you now, but me and Demetri are both driving you to the airport tomorrow in anyway" Felix spoke, Demetri stood much shorter beside him.

"Look, I've hugged pretty much every being in this room I've met so far, so you're both next whether you like it or not"

I rolled my eyes, wrapping my arms around Felix who reluctantly embraced me back, before hugging Demetri who completely tensed up on the spot.

"Eli, do you have to leave now? I've never seen someone annoy Santiago that much before, it was so much fun!" Renata wrapped her arms around me from behind, her head rested on my shoulder.

"Hopefully I won't be gone too long, I'll come back soon" I assured before pulling away from her.

Santiago and Afton both stood in front of me, and we all stood staring at each other awkwardly.

"So…I'm not really a…hug kinda guy…you know?" Afton hesitated.

"Yeah…me too dude" Santiago added.

"Same to be fair…" I chimed in.

"This is sad to watch, honestly" Chelsea remarked, pushing Afton from behind while Corin did the same thing to Santiago, forcing us into a…group hug? I noted to never hug Afton or Santiago again; it's not worth the hassle.

I strolled over to where the twins, Jane and Alec, were stood at the back. I was glad that I'd at least managed to go through and individually embrace each member of the guard without the blood being sucked out of me.

"Your turn" I grinned, well knowing that they were going to hate this, Jane especially.

"How about we make a deal instead: you don't hug us, and in return we help you pack?" Alec asked with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Sure, sure, I don't particularly like hugging loads of people in anyway. I just wanted to piss off Jane"

"What did you say?" Jane glared at me.

"Nothing at all, lead the way" I gestured to the door.

"Wait, we still haven't said goodbye properly"

I turned around to face Corin and Chelsea, who very considerately hugged me less tightly than they had before, making it a little easier for me to embrace them back.

"We'll miss you!"

"You too, don't have too much fun without me!" I called, dramatically holding onto Chelsea until just our fingertips were touching.

"Let's go Eliana" Alec was stood impatiently, switching his weight between legs.

"Watch it, or I'll hug you" I warned, before following him and Jane out of the door.

This entire castle the coven seemed to live in was a little strange to me, considering that there really weren't that many people here when you think about it, and it's not like it had to fit beds or anything as well. Despite being a pipsqueak, Jane's strides were quite long, longer than Alec's.

"Hold up, why am I even packing?" I asked.

"The Masters have provided you with a suitcase to take whatever you wish, considering Alice Cullen took yours back with her" Alec responded.

"Alice has my- I don't know how I deal with that strange child" I muttered.

"Have you been informed about any of your travel details yet?" Jane called over her shoulder.

"No, how am I getting back?"

"Unicorn"

"Hilarious, you sound like me," I suppressed a laugh, "but how am I getting back then?"

"Private jet, how else?" she snapped, flinging my door open and letting herself in.

"Geez, no need to be so aggressive" I snarked.

A hand-luggage sized deep maroon suitcase sat in the middle of the room, along with my passport and my important documents in a clear plastic wallet. Immediately, Alec reached for my passport, opening it straight to my portrait. I managed to abruptly snatch it away from him but not fast enough, as he was already keeling over with laughter.

"Let me see!" Jane whined at me, giggling at her brother.

I sighed and handed it behind me to her, before she glanced at it and joined Alec in rolling around on the floor in fits. It did surprise me to hear how nice of a laugh Jane has though, her airy voice echoing down the corridor.

"I'll take that back now, thanks" I groaned, prying it away from her grip.

While the twins attempted to compose themselves after witnessing my humiliating passport photo, I made my way around the room collecting items here and there and placing them into piles labelled 'there's no fucking way I'm _not_ taking that' and 'meh'. In the end, I settled on bringing a few items of clothing to stock up my sparse wardrobe at home, as well as my iPod, speaker, and a few make up items. Looking over at the clock, I noticed that the time was now _15:31_.

"What the hell are those?" Jane raised an eyebrow, sat on the edge of my bed.

"What are you on about, Miss Death-Glare?" I snarked.

"Oh, I'll show you what a death-glar-"

"Not right now, thank you" Alec stood between us, blocking our view of each other.

"But seriously, what's your problem?" I spun on my ass and leant to the side to peer around Alec.

"Those white fluffy things in the corner. Are you keeping a dead animal or something?"

I couldn't take it anymore; I erupted with laughter, my ribs aching with each cackle that came out of me. People had always compared the sound of my laugh to that of Woody Woodpecker, and the resemblance really came through in that moment.

"Well?" Jane raised her eyebrow.

"They're socks, Jane!" I wheezed.

"Socks?"

"Yeah, they're so warm, want them?" I wiped my eyes from my tears and extended them out to her.

"There is no way such appalling garments will ever be seen on my feet" she snapped.

"Shame, really" I exhaled deeply, taking off my Dr. Marten boots and sliding the socks over my feet.

Packing everything tightly into my suitcase, I sat on top of it with my legs crossed while Alec zipped it up for me.

"You know you don't have to sit on it, right?"

"Eh, it adds to the whole 'packing to leave' kind of vibe," I shrugged, sliding off and onto the floor, "so what time is my flight then?"

"You will be woken up at five o'clock in the morning, taken to the airport for your flight which will leave at seven o'clock and will arrive at ten o'clock in the morning Forks time" Jane stated.

"How long is the flight?" I asked.

"You took a plane here, you know already"

"Well, in my defence, I don't remember much from before the whole little incident in anyway"

"It's a twelve hour flight, but you will be able to enjoy the many luxuries of flying on a private jet" she replied.

"Private jet? I'm sure that isn't necessary, I can just take economy class" I said with my eyebrows drawn together.

"The Masters own two private jets, so you will be flown in one of them. Do you have any more questions to waste our time further?" she snarked.

"Calm down, I'm done, I'm done," I held my arms up with my palms facing out, "Now that I'm packed, what should I do for the next few hours then?"

"Whatever you would like really. The Masters are in a meeting with a few visitors in Master Aro's office, but that's left most of the guard free with nothing to do" Alec answered.

"But I already said goodbye to them, it'll be too awkward to go back now" I childishly whined.

"So, what are you going to do then?" Jane queried.

"You know what? I'm going to bake myself a cake." I stated proudly, standing to my feet, "Care to join me?"

"I don't know if cooking is such a good idea" Alec warned cautiously.

"Oh p-lease," I emphasized the 'p' and waved my hand, "what could possibly go wrong?"

I didn't even bother to put on my shoes, deciding that my fluffy socks were enough to protect my feet from anything I'd step on, and yanked the door open.

"A lot?" he grumbled from behind me as the two of them followed me down the hall and into the kitchen.

"Have a little faith, Alec"

Swinging open the double doors to the kitchen with ease, I headed straight to the cupboards and started looking for ingredients. Surprisingly enough, I managed to find everything I needed, including baking chocolate and icing sugar.

"What are you planning on baking?" Jane asked inquisitively, perched on the end of the countertop.

"Maybe brownies? I haven't had them in ages" I responded, pulling a large tray out of a cupboard beside the oven with a loud bang.

"Brownies? May I ask, what are they?" Alec was stood leant against the counter beside Jane, staring at me intrigued.

"It's like chocolate cake, only gooey-er and richer" I explained.

"Hmm, fascinating!" he remarked, sarcasm dripping from his tone.

I actually remembered the recipe by heart after making them only a few weeks ago. I did have to ask the twins to translate some of the ingredients though, as the last thing I needed was to be adding yoghurt instead of coconut milk or corn starch instead of flour. Jane took to constantly pointing out the flaws in my baking skills, causing me to take a small pinch of flour and fling it at her. Shockingly, she didn't retaliate, but that only put me further on-edge from the thought of her plotting some kind of payback against me.

"I think I have enough for two trays!" I exclaimed, one tray now full as I rummaged back into the cupboard and pulled out a second.

"Are you going to eat all of that?" Alec looked at me sceptically.

"Eh, worst case scenario is I'll take it back to Forks with me and share some with Bella. Right, now we just pop it in the oven and-"

"Stop! I will do it. You're not hurting yourself on our watch" he dived in front of me, taking both trays and sliding them into the oven before closing the door.

"Okay then, I guess in that case now we wait for…" I checked the time displayed on the hob, "15 minutes"

"Doesn't it need longer?"

"Well, we really don't want it thoroughly cooked, I mean, this isn't a cake per say. The more undercooked, the better" I spoke, clearing up the dirty dishes and placing them in the sink.

"Don't clean up, we have people who do that" Jane didn't even glance over at me, hopping off of the counter to dust off the last of the flour off her dress.

"If you insist," I sat down on a stool at the island in the middle of the kitchen, "seriously though, what do you guys do all day?"

"Usually we are sent out on tasks, but the past two months have been pretty quiet for us"

"What kind of tasks?"

"It can be anything really. Executions, protection, it depends on what Master Aro instructs us to do"

"Yikes, I'm glad I don't have your job" I remarked.

"Why?" Alec asked.

"Oh I could never execute someone. No, the guilt would live with me forever"

"Do bear in mind that we only execute convicted criminals, not whoever we want. We are not serial killers after all"

"Fair point," I tried to agree, before leaping to my feet after checking the time, "ooh, they're done!"

I leapt up and sped over to the oven, placing my hands on the handle before Alec materialised in front of me, stopping me in my tracks.

"Allow me"

Without even putting on a pair of oven gloves, he opened the oven and pulled out both trays, placing them on the counter and stepping aside to let me finish. Too impatient to wait for them to cool, I took a knife and cut myself a massive wedge of brownie, dumping it onto a plate.

"_Et voila_!" I gestured wildly at the steaming hot pile of chocolate mess.

"Is that it?" Jane glanced up at me, unimpressed.

"Yeah, look!" I took a fork from the cutlery draw and ate a piece. Sure, it burnt my tongue badly, but it was worth it for the taste, while I moaned dramatically to emphasize how much I was enjoying it.

"Humans" Alec muttered under his breath.

"You're just jealous you can't have any, vampire boy," I snarked, taking in another mouthful, "just imagine this as the best, sweetest human blood you've ever tasted"

"I'm not comparing our diet to that" Jane spat.

"Don't then, just sit there and continue to feel that jealousy of yours" I teased, cutting another massive slice and piling it on my plate, the twins' disgusted faces saying all that needed to be said.

**Author's note: Sorry this chapter is quite short compared to some of the others, I don't really have a good explanation for that haha. Anyways, that's pretty much it for Eli's last day in Volterra**** for now, I hope you enjoyed reading, be sure to leave a comment/review/whatever, stay safe, and ily!**


	14. Chapter 14

"_Svegliati, il mio amore_"

My eyes fluttered open to see Marcus leant over the edge of my bed, gently shaking me awake. I was so goddamn tired, with absolutely not enough willpower whatsoever to begin my day.

"Ten more minutes" I groaned, rolling over to my right side as he chuckled and placed a soft kiss on my temple before disappearing again.

Looking over at the time, it was in fact five in the morning, which was pretty early considering that I'd woken up at around ten o'clock most mornings here. I turned on the light in the dark room and rolled out of bed, shuffling reluctantly over to my wardrobe and deciding to wear a black oversized hoodie and grey joggers with my white fluffy "dead animal" socks, my trainers held in my left hand while a crimson red cushion from my bed was tucked under my right arm. I'd always been quite dramatic when it came to early risings, my hood covering my head completely.

Wheeling my suitcase over to the door while still in a dazed state, I yawned and fumbled with the handle before finally getting it open, only to be met by Aro, Caius, and Marcus all standing directly outside my door.

"Jesus, don't creep up on me like that, you could've given me a heart attack!" I gasped, dropping my trainers and cushion with a soft thud.

"Well, we simply had to say goodbye, _carissima_" Caius responded with a chuckle and picked up my cushion, dusting it off while Aro handed me back my trainers.

I balanced both items carefully on top of my suitcase and turned back around, embracing Marcus in a tight hug with his chin rested a top of my head.

"Goodbye for now, _tesoro_" he murmured, pulling my hood off so that he could see my face.

"Bye Marcus"

I bit back any possible tears and reached up onto my toes, pressing a chaste kiss to his lips and briefly hugging him again. Stepping to the right, I wrapped my arms around the slightly shorter Aro, who pulled me closer to him and quickly read my thoughts.

"We will miss you a lot, _bellissima_" I felt his lips move against my neck, sending shivers down my spine.

"Likewise" I smiled, kissing him softly before pulling away and stepping over to Caius.

I assumed he was expecting to only receive a hug similar to his brothers as we still hadn't had our first kiss yet. He stood with his arms open for an embrace, but instead I reached up onto my toes and pressed my lips to his. He seemed taken aback at first, but quickly he pulled my body into him. His lips moved roughly, passionately, against mine as he growled softly, his grip on my waist becoming tighter by the second. Eventually pulling away for air, I blushed after realising not only that Caius eyes had turned black, but that Aro and Marcus had been standing there the entire time, and so I rested my forehead against his chest in an effort to dispel the heat radiating off of me.

"That was worth the wait" he whispered, pressing softer kisses to my cheek.

"Goodbye for now, Caius" I murmured into his shirt before pulling away and picking up my cushion and trainers which I'd left discarded behind me.

Felix and Demetri instantly materialised beside us, Demetri shaking the car keys in his hand so that they made a jingle sound. Felix took my suitcase from next to me, carrying it under his arm with ease as if it weighed nothing at all.

"We'd best leave now, Eliana" Demetri bowed, gesturing his arm.

"Of course, of course" I followed the two of them, turning around back to the kings after a few metres.

"I miss you already!" I yelled dramatically, waving at them before being dragged back around the corner by Felix as I was ushered into the annoying-elevator-that-plays-opera-music.

"Well, I guess this is it then" I sighed, the opera music playing above our heads completely killing the mood.

We pretty much stood in silence, while I pulled my hood back up and over my head as the temperature in the elevator began to drop. With an even more annoying ding sound, the metal doors opened to a darkened and empty parking lot. A cold breeze sent a chill through me as I hugged the cushion tighter towards my body and followed them over to an expensive-looking BMW. Felix opened the boot and tossed the suitcase in carelessly.

"Careful, my brownies are in there!" I exclaimed.

He clearly didn't want an explanation and instead rolled his eyes, closing the boot and circling around to open the passenger door for me.

"After you" he gestured to the seat.

I placed down my trainers and cushion before giving him a friendly hug. He seemed taken aback at first, but did half-heartedly embrace me back.

"See ya later, alligator!" I giggled, climbing into the car while he closed the door for me and pretended to cry from outside the window. I pressed the button on the windowsill to lower it down and raised an eyebrow at him.

"It's just so emotional!" he sobbed dramatically, his left hand covering his mouth as he waved a white handkerchief about in his right.

"I'm sure it is, whatever will you do without me?" I called as Demetri started the engine, the car purring to life.

I closed the window again to retain the heat in the car, crossing my legs underneath me while Demetri pulled away and drove us down some kind of concrete underground tunnel.

"I didn't realise you guys had a secret little tunnel system" I laughed, the car becoming darker as yellow lights swept past us.

"We can't be attracting too much attention to ourselves and our location" he explained.

The inside of the BMW was so cool, the dashboard lit up with bright blue lights. After studying it carefully and learning the purpose of all of the controls, I managed to spot what I was looking for and pressed the button.

"What _are_ you doing?" Demetri glanced over, unimpressed.

"Turning on the radio," I answered, turning up the volume slightly while pop music played out, "how long are we in this car for then?"

"We are going to be driving to Pisa International Airport for the next thirty minutes. Feel free to sleep if you need to, it is only five o'clock which is quite early for you"

I hadn't noticed how dark it was outside until we left the tunnel and joined back up to the main road. The street lamps provided a dim yellow light across the relatively empty roads as we zoomed past. It turns out that Demetri is almost as reckless at driving as Alice is, narrowly missing the speed limit and taking constant sharp turns. _Must be a vampire thing._ About fifteen minutes after setting off, my stomach suddenly let out an unholy rumbling sound, reminding me that I hadn't had breakfast yet. Fortunately, I spotted a glowing yellow 'M' sign not too far in the distance.

"Can we get McDonald's?" I asked eagerly, bouncing in my seat.

Demetri sighed, "Eli, we really don't have time"

"Look though, we can go through the Drive Thru, it'll only take a few minutes, and it's not even busy, and even if we are late you can just blame me, I don't care. We don't even have to get out of the car, _please_ Demetri?" I managed to get out in one breath.

"Fine, if you insist" he grumbled, turning down and into the Drive Thru.

He pulled up hesitantly, clearly not at all wanting to be there. I, on the other hand, was grinning so hard my cheeks were hurting, longing to get my hands on one of their hash browns.

"What are you ordering?" he asked bitterly.

"Um, a hash brown, a toasted bagel, and orange juice" I replied eagerly.

Reluctantly, Demetri pulled up to the microphone and spoke to the worker in Italian, ordering my breakfast with clear exasperation in his voice, making it hard for me to keep a straight face. After driving around to the window to collect the order, he passed me my food items one by one and immediately sped off without even thanking the worker at all.

"Demetri, manners!" I laughed, turning my head as we zoomed back onto the motorway.

"I think I'm being kind enough by allowing you McDonald's for breakfast, Eli. Thanks to you, we are now running ten minutes late" he slammed his foot on the gas pedal.

"Well, at least I got my hash brown" I shrugged, scoffing it down in three bites.

There was only fifteen minutes left of the drive, and it went by much faster now that I wasn't hungry as well. The sky began to lighten up as the sun rose, the street lamps turning off one by one. I always found mornings like this exciting, just the thought of getting on a plane and going on holiday, even if I wasn't exactly going on holiday. Eventually, we pulled in to the airport but instantly took a left turning away from all of the traffic, leading us down a separate road that went behind all of the terminals and buildings.

"Um, Demetri? Where are we going?" I questioned as we drove further away from the multi-storey car park.

"Private jet, remember?" he reminded me, driving around a corner and up to a heavily-guarded metal gate. He quickly spoke to one of the guards in Italian before they opened the gate, allowing Demetri to drive the car right up onto the runway and park beside a large white aeroplane. I gasped, my jaw dropping and leaving my mouth in an 'O' shape.

"Are you going to get out or will I have to carry you?"

I snapped back into reality and turned to Demetri, who had the door open and an arm extended to help me out. Gathering up my shoes and cushion, I took his hand and jumped out onto the cold tarmac, while he carried my suitcase as easily as Felix had. I followed his lead as we strolled across the deserted runway to the stairs and stepped up into the plane, the temperature difference from the outside clearly noticeable.

For a few moments, I stood there in the middle of the aisle, not having a clue as to what to do with myself. The luxurious interior was filled with warm lighting, with a few white leather seats and a long white leather sofa, making me feel even more out-of-place than I had at the castle. Demetri settled down in a seat on the right, placing my suitcase in one of the overhead compartments and picking up a copy of a newspaper he'd found on the seat opposite. After looking around awkwardly and noticing we were the only ones in the cabin, I settled down in the leather seat opposite him, curling my feet up underneath me and glancing out of the oval window.

"I didn't realise you were coming to Forks as well" I spoke, causing Demetri to lower his newspaper so that I could see his face.

"Did you really believe that the Masters would leave you unguarded? With all due respect, you are the human mate, emphasis on human, of the three Volturi leaders; not one, not two, three"

"So, what you're saying is there'll basically always be a guard around somewhere, whether I can see them or not" I mused.

"Yes, there will almost always be more than one, and the Masters have sent out two more guard members to join me in guarding you during your time in Forks"

"Ooh, who?" I asked curiously.

"Let us hope you will never need to find out," he shrugged, resuming his newspaper, "There is a TV at the other end of the plane if you would like to move seats"

"I will, thanks for the McDonald's by the way" I giggled, excitedly skipping over to the sofa which had a large flat screen TV attached to the wall opposite.

Once the plane had taken off, I spent a few hours binge watching a bunch of Disney movies including The Jungle Book and Finding Nemo, curled up with the cushion I'd brought along with me. Actually, come to think of it, I didn't have any real reason to bring it with me, but on the plus side it still vaguely smelled of Aro from when he stayed in my room the other night, so I wasn't complaining. After a short while, I dosed off, my body spread out across the sofa while I hugged the cushion close to me. It really hadn't hit me how tired I was until I was woken up when we landed.

"Eliana, Eliana-"

I shot up, pulling off a grey throw blanket which someone had apparently given me, and turned to face Demetri.

"Are we here?" I groaned, rubbing my eyes.

"We are about to land, but you need to buckle your seatbelt first"

Lazily sitting myself up straight, I quickly buckled myself into one of the seatbelts on the sofa and pulled my cushion onto my lap, gazing out of the bright window as Forks came into view. I was itching to get off the plane, longing to have some fresh air in my lungs after spending twelve hours cooped up in a small cabin. I checked the time displayed on the TV, which was apparently _19:02_, but that didn't make any sense because Jane said I'd be landing at ten o'clock in the morning.

"Demetri, I'm confused and tired, what's the time?" I mumbled as he handed me back my suitcase.

"_10:22_ Forks time, thanks to the McDonald's delay" he snarked light-heartedly before leading me out of the plane and back into the world of fresh air.

I'd never been so compelled to kneel down and kiss the ground before, completely fed up of being on that stuffy plane. Sure, it's nice travelling on a fancy private jet, but I wanted nothing more than to get out of there. Demetri lead the way back to the terminal with my suitcase held under his arm, while I stumbled lazily behind him. It turns out that security is much easier when you fly privately, as I managed to make it out and over to the arrivals lounge in twenty minutes flat.

"Eli!"

I swivelled around and my gaze locked on Bella, who was now running at full speed towards me. Maybe it was because of my lack of sleep, but I was absolutely delirious, my surroundings confusing me a lot. What didn't help was that Demetri had now disappeared somewhere, leaving me stood there in the middle of the arrivals lounge in my fluffy socks and sweats.

"Hey Bells" I mumbled through a yawn, wrapping my arms around her and following her over to Edward who was stood further behind.

"So, are you better then?" she asked, looking me up and down. Of course, the last time she saw me, I was in an immobilised state in my room. _My room? Did I really call it my room?_

"I'm fine, yeah, just…tired" I replied hesitantly. To be honest, I really didn't feel like now was the time to say anything about…anything really.

"Let me take that for you, Eli" Edward stepped over to us, picking up my suitcase with ease and giving me some unreadable look that seemed like a combination of just about every emotion.

The two of them led me out of the terminal and over to Edward's Volvo. I climbed into the back seat and placed my feet on the seat adjacent, my cushion still hugged to my chest. Throughout the entire journey back, Bella had decided to fill me in completely on everything I missed including her apparently being grounded, talking with so much enthusiasm and speed that it hurt my head, but I didn't make it far into her recap before I fell fast asleep, my head rested on the cool windowsill.

**Author's Note: Sorry that it took a little longer to write this chapter, I don't know why but I seemed to struggle with it a lot haha. Anyways, there's not really much to say, but I do hope you enjoyed it, be sure to leave some feedback, stay safe, and ily!**


	15. Chapter 15

My eyes wearily fluttered open to find myself no longer in Edward's Volvo but now in a bed, still wearing the same clothes as earlier. Sitting up, I looked around panicked before realising that I was actually in the spare room at the Cullens' house, both of my suitcases sat beside each other in the corner. I leant over to the bedside table and picked up my phone, only to be met with a message from an unknown number.

_I hope you had a pleasant plane journey. Enjoy your time in Forks dear. Aro._

I smiled, adding Aro's phone number to my very short list of contacts. It did seem funny to me that, despite being the leaders of the Volturi, they own mobile phones, and not only that but they text as well. I opened up the chat and hesitantly began typing.

_The plane was so nice omg, thank you so so so much for letting me stay with you for the week xx_

Was that suitable? Would he even know what 'OMG' means? Oh well, I guess he could figure it out eventually. Surely if they have mobile phones, they also have access to Google and the Urban Dictionary. After hovering my index finger over the screen for a few seconds, I pressed send and threw my phone onto the bed as if I was playing a game of hot potato by myself.

I lazily rolled out of bed and headed over to my original suitcase to change my clothes into at least something familiar. Once I unzipped it, I found all of my belongings exactly as they were, but the chocolate I'd brought over for Bella from the UK had melted into one giant lump of sugar. I took it out and placed it on my bed, planning on maybe placing it in the microwave and eating it melted with a spoon, and chose out a pair of jeans and a grey cropped t-shirt. Standing up to change, my phone vibrated, and I instantly dropped everything and leapt over to it.

_You are welcome to stay with us at any time at all. However, would you care to explain what 'omg' means?_

Well, I'd be lying if I said I didn't see that coming.

_It stands for oh my god, haha_

I stood up and only managed to change out of my hoodie and into my top before another message came through.

_Caius is of the opinion that abbreviations are lazy and pathetic._

Again, I saw that coming.

_Tell Caius that idc tbh and imma keep using text slang bc I can and you can't stop me lmao_

Satisfied with how much I had confused them, this gave me time to finish getting dressed and brush my hair out to remove some of the knots left over from the past few hours. The screen of my phone flashed again, but this message was from another unknown number.

_Eliana, I do not know what you think you are playing at, but it stops now. Please message formerly, these confusing abbreviations are simply rude. Caius._

Usually I'd be a little worried at this point as, while I was still in Volterra, I was always careful to stay on the kings' good side and refrain from angering them for fear of some kind of punishment, but through the phone pissing them off was just too much fun. Once I'd added him to my contacts, I quickly responded.

_Look, 'idc' stands for I don't care, 'tbh' stands for to be honest, 'bc' stands for because, and 'lmao' stands for laugh my ass off, yw  
'yw' stands for you're welcome  
so yw  
xx_

Checking the time and seeing that it had just gone three, I sat down and thought about how I was going to tell the Cullens. I was so desperate to put it off, and I know that Marcus reassured me and all, but it didn't seem to help in that instance. After sitting there for a few minutes, I stood up and nervously walked along the landing with my phone in my back pocket, before Edward's cold hand grabbed my arm and pulled me into his room.

"Eliana, we need to talk"

He closed the door and sat beside me on his sofa. Funnily enough, he still had the same unreadable expression as earlier.

"What about?" I asked cautiously.

"You know what this is about: the Volturi"

It felt like my heart stopped. _God, I'm stupid_. Of course Edward knew, he has that whole freaky mind power telepathy thing, he must've read my thoughts earlier.

"Y-you know?" My hands were shaking as I turned around to him.

"Yes, and so does Alice" he replied. He didn't seem angry at all, which calmed me down slightly.

"Are you…" I paused, "are you angry at me?"

At that moment, Alice immediately appeared in the room and closed the door behind her, strolling over to sit on the other side of me.

"Eli, we would never be angry at you. If anything, we should congratulate you on finding your true mate, or should I say mates"

"Wait, how did you know? Is this what you were refusing to tell me a week ago?"

"I did tell you that I wasn't in the place to, but of course I knew. Otherwise, I would've left you in Forks without taking you with us"

"That's two less people I need to tell I guess" I humoured.

"So," Alice sat down on the floor in front of me excitedly with her legs crossed, her head rested on her hand, "what do you think of your mates then?"

"I mean-"

My sentence was cut off by my phone buzzing again in my pocket. I pulled it out to see another few unread messages, one from Caius.

_Your attitude is really getting on my nerves now._

Oh well, he was always a little tightly strung. I accidentally let out an audible giggle, which caused Alice to move to lean over me to see my screen.

"Eli, I'd be careful if I were you. Never provoke the Volturi, even if they are your mates" she warned warily.

"Oh relax, you'll never believe me when I tell you that just yesterday I made brownies in their kitchen with Jane and Alec"

Edward and Alice both simply stared at me with a mixture of shock and bemusement. In fairness, most people did fear the twins, and for good reason; their powers are pretty damn torturous. While the two of them continued to process the fact that I was apparently friends with the monstrous guard, I read the other message which was from another unknown number.

_Tesoro, Caius is close to crushing his phone in his fist. For the sake of me and Aro, please do message properly. Marcus._

_Fine, I'll stop using abbreviations. For now in anyway. xx_

"You are so incredibly lucky, El. To meet your true mates, in your human lifetime, is amazing" she added.

"I just…I know, after everything that happened last week, it sort of puts us and the Volturi in a weird position, and I-I don't want this to end badly"

"Eli, everything will turn out great" she assured.

"Do the others know yet?"

"No, I was tempted to tell them but we thought it would be better if you told them yourself," Edward replied, "are you going to tell them today?"

"That's the plan" I mumbled, glancing down at my hands in my lap.

Alice abruptly took my hand and led me out of the room and down the stairs, Edward following closely behind. She seemed genuinely bursting with excitement, so pretty much the complete opposite of me.

"Alice, wha-"

"No better time than the present" she called behind her, dragging me down into the front room where everyone was gathered already. Sat on the sofa, Emmett was attempting to balance a stack of pens on top of each other on his hand, Rose was watching on in bemusement, Jasper was stood on the edge of the sofa adding to the stack, and Bella was handing pens from the coffee table over to Jasper.

"Everyone, Eli has something important to announce" she squealed, causing the stack of pens, which had reached two or three feet tall, to tumble to the ground.

"That was my record!" Emmett yelled at the pens now scattered across the floor.

"What is it?" Bella turned to me, a little confused as to why this wasn't something I'd mentioned in the car.

"Um, it's probably something I should say to everyone at once, I really don't want to repeat it unnecessarily" I spoke sheepishly.

"I'll go and get Carlisle and Esme from his office" Edward offered, heading back out of the room.

"Can you at least give us a hint?" Jasper asked, now settled down beside Alice.

"Literally wait a few seconds, it's…interesting to say the least…" I trailed off.

I think the others could sense my anxiety, and they all seemed to gradually become more intrigued. Only a few seconds later, Edward reappeared with Carlisle and Esme, the whole family now gathered around me. I could feel my breathing becoming more frantic, my heartbeat accelerating.

"What is it Eli?" Carlisle looked at me sympathetically.

I took a sharp breath, all of the eyes in the room on me. "I-I-while I was in Italy, I found my…my true mates"

Alice bounced in her seat, lightly clapping her hands, and Edward smiled, while the others stared at me, their jaws dropped in shock.

"What's a 'true mate'?" Bella questioned.

"A true mate is an extremely rare phenomenon, something that can be easily compared to a 'soul mate' or a werewolf's imprint. Supposedly, every being has one, but the vast majority will never meet theirs. However, due to our immortality, there have been few cases of vampires discovering their true mates," Carlisle explained, before fixing his gaze back onto me, "are you certain?"

"I'm 100% convinced they are" I responded shyly.

"They?" Emmett asked.

"About that, what I told you is just the beginning. I-I-I…" I stumbled completely, my words refusing to spill out of my mouth. Edward placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder, and I took in another sharp breath before getting the sentence out of me as fast as possible.

"I'm mated to the Volturi" I blurted, before placing a hand over my mouth. It was the first time I had properly said it out loud to myself, and that sentence alone frightened me slightly.

"The Volturi?" Jasper's eyes practically popped out of their sockets.

"My true mates… a-are Aro, Caius, and Marcus Volturi" I explained, my chest feeling heavy.

Without me having a chance to explain anything further, Bella got to her feet, storming past Carlisle and Esme and up to Edward's room. Edward quickly patted me on the shoulder comfortingly before dashing upstairs to join her. This simply left me standing alone in the middle of the room with my arms crossed over my chest, the others still staring at me in shock. Esme was the first one to break the painful silence.

"Congratulations Eli, that is such fortunate news for you" she smiled, though her sincerity didn't come across very strongly.

"We are all very happy for you, Eli" Carlisle added, the shock still visible on his face.

I anxiously nodded my head and bit my bottom lip, before Alice wrapped her arms around my shoulders from behind me as a reassuring gesture.

"You'll be a pretty badass Volturi" Emmett grinned with an eyebrow raised, apparently the first one to get over the initial shock.

"Congratulations Eli" Jasper nodded, his eyebrows still raised.

"You're very lucky to have found your true mates so early on in your life, congrats" Rose said with a slightly dismissive tone, understandably a little uneasy considering these were the people who almost killed Edward and Bella.

"Thank you," I mumbled just as Edward came back into the room, "I think I should probably try talking to Bella"

After briefly hugging Alice, I bolted up the stairs and cautiously approached the door. So far, I'd gotten far more positive reactions from everyone than I'd ever expected, but I definitely wasn't expecting the worst reaction to come from Bella. I hesitantly tapped on the closed door and opened it, hoping I wouldn't anger her any more than I apparently already had.

"What do you want?" she snapped icily, not even turning around as she gazed out of the large window at the end of the far wall.

"Look, Bella, can we talk about this? Properly?" I took a careful step forward.

"The Volturi? Seriously?"

"…why is that an issue then?" I tilted my head.

"Eli, they wanted to kill me, and Edward, have you already forgotten?"

"I didn't choose them, Bella. I can't help any of this, any of it. You don't seem to understand, this bond, it's so much stronger than you could ever imagine" I explained, and it was. I mean, it's not exactly a common occurrence to passionately kiss the Volturi leaders after staying with them for a week.

"Not only that, but they're so much older than you, like, to the point where it's just creepy-"

"Woah-woah-woah, hold up, did you seriously call my relationship creepy? What the hell Bells? When you first started dating Edward, who can I just add is almost a _hundred_ years older than you, did I go around calling you guys creepy? No, actually I ship your relationship so hard, you guys are honestly the cutest" I crossed my arms angrily.

"We have a one hundred year age difference, don't compare it to your _ten thousand!_" she snapped back.

"Firstly, it's actually three thousand, get your insults straight. Secondly, they're my true mates. What, do you want me to just break up with them? Is that what you want? Because, funnily enough, I happen to be eternally in love with them, and it cannot be helped! Besides, since when are you in a place to judge? You randomly fell head over heels for a _vampire_!"

"And apparently so did you, but at least Edward doesn't go around killing people and drinking human blood!"

Just before our fight had a chance to escalate, Edward and Emmett both dashed into the room after hearing us screaming in each other's faces, Edward with his arms around Bella to hold her back.

"Bella, let's go" he ushered her out of the room past me and Emmett, who had his arms around me to stop me from biting back. Bella gave me a cold and heart-breaking glare as she left, Emmett only releasing me from his hold once she had left the building.

As soon as he had finally let go of me, I ran past the others, who had gathered at the top of the stairs to see what had happened, and into the room I was staying in, slamming the door shut behind me. Warm tears I'd been holding in for the last day or two welled in my eyes, slowly running down my face and soaking my top as I leant back against the door. Not only was I currently on the other side of the world from my mates, but I'd also lost a best friend, two if you count my ex-boyfriend, and now I was stuck in Forks. I couldn't remember a time when I felt lonelier, completely isolated from everything and everyone I cared about.

As if right on cue, my phone began to buzz in my pocket, but instead of the usual notification buzz, I realised I was receiving a call from Aro. I quickly scurried over to the en suite bathroom and tried to steady my hiccupped breathing through my reflection before answering the phone.

"Hello?"

"_Il mio amore_, it is lovely to hear your voice again!" Aro's feather-soft voice echoed loudly.

"You too" I mumbled.

There was suddenly a loud rustling sound on the other end, accompanied by what sounded like a muffled disagreement between Aro and Caius.

"Eliana, I do not know when this attitude through your messages became acceptable, but it stops now! These abbreviations are nothing but disrespectful and cryptic!" Caius snapped.

"Yeah, sorry about that" I attempted to giggle but it came out as a sob.

"Oh, _carissima_, I was only teasing" he reassured, the guilt audible in his voice as he must've assumed I was crying because of him.

"No, no, no, it's not you, it's okay, it's fine, I'm fine…" I trailed off with a deep breath, all of my emotions beginning to catch up with me at once.

"Please do not lie to us, _cara mia_, whatever is the matter?" Aro asked, his voice echoing further due to them putting the phone on speaker.

"It's nothing, it's just…"

I never finished my sentence, but instead burst into uncontrollable tears, bawling my eyes out like a child. Every time I tried to stop, to pull myself together, it got worse, my emotions taking over every single action in my body. The three of them tried to soothe me through the phone, which did somewhat help.

"Please talk to us, _il mio amore_, what is wrong?" Marcus soft voice spoke.

"I-I just, I-I-it's everything, just everything, B-B-B-Bella's upset with me, and a-all of the" I hiccupped, "the C-Cullens are acting w-w-weird, and I m-miss you, a-and" I gulped back another sob, wiping my eyes with the back of my hand.

"What did the Cullens and that Bella girl do to you?" Caius growled.

"It's not their fault, I-I just got into an argument with Bella and I j-j-just want to go home" I cried, sniffling into a tissue.

"Maybe it would be best if we schedule a trip to Forks now" Aro suggested.

"I'd like to give the Cullens' pathetic human girl a piece of my mind-"

"No, no, absolutely not!" I insisted, "I just want to go back home, I don't want to stay in Forks for any longer"

"Are you certain that is what you would like?" Aro asked.

"Yes, I don't want to stay here" I sniffled, finally gaining some control over myself.

"In that case, we shall book you a ticket to England for tomorrow morning, that is, if you are absolutely certain"

"I am, I just want to be at home" I sighed, curling up onto my bed and holding the cushion I'd taken from Volterra close to me.

"Very well, we will email you the booking details and you will be home tomorrow"

"Thank you. If I could hug you all right now, I would" I managed to let out a half-hearted giggle.

"We all miss you very much, Aro and Caius have both become insufferable" Marcus remarked.

"You are quick to talk brother, you have been more distant than you have in centuries, and that says something!" Caius argued.

"You almost crushed your mobile phone, brother!"

"I fail to see how I am being roped into this" Aro added.

"Brother, you are no more innocent than Caius"

"How so?" he asked over-doing his voice of innocence.

"_Tesoro_, Aro has been pestering us to call you all day long, despite me insisting that you need some time to settle back" Marcus informed me.

"You were desperate to call our mate as well!" It was like I could hear Aro throwing his arms up in the air in exasperation.

This went on for some time, the sound of my laughter probably just encouraging it. I sat nestled in the pillows on the bed with the tub left over brownies in my lap, acting as Switzerland in this battle, which seemed to go off on a tangent very fast.

"How dare you accuse me of wasting space in our castle, _our_ castle!" Aro seethed.

"Brother, thanks to you, there is now a room completely filled with houseplants. Do you truly believe that that is a suitable purpose for a room?" Caius snapped.

"Oh wait, I've seen that room as well," my muffled voice chipped in, my mouth still full of brownie, "Afton showed me, it's almost as weird as the party room"

"Eliana, who's side are you on?!" Aro sounded completely hopeless.

"The side of truth," I laughed, swallowing another mouthful, "why do you have a room full of houseplants?"

"What do you have against houseplants?"

"Nothing, but surely there are better uses for rooms than dedicated houseplant rooms"

"Thank you!" Caius sounded pleased that I agreed with him.

"Give me one better solution, just one" Aro snapped.

"Observatory, art studio, music room, fill it with insects to frighten Eliana" Marcus proposed.

"Don't even think about it" I grumbled, earning a chuckle from all three of them.

"Well then, watch your attitude through your messages then, that way we may not have to consider it as a possibility" Caius said slyly.

"What attitude?"

"The abbreviations!"

"This again…"

"Yes, this again. How can you expect others to understand your message if you refuse to type in full sentences?"

"It's not that hard, you can guess the vast majority of them!"

"Not that hard? Are you calling me stupid?!"

"What? No! Don't put words in my mouth!"

"Caius, Eliana promises to put an end to these message abbreviations, don't you?" Aro asked me calmly.

"Sure" I muttered disappointedly.

"That was not a yes, Eliana"

"Fine, yes"

"Do you see?" Aro was back to his smug self, "Simple problem-solving brother, that is all it takes"

Caius growled lowly, which caused me to chuckle. "…but I can't promise I'll never use them"

**Author's note: This chapter got a little angsty haha, you're welcome. Please don't attack me for the subtle Cullen bashing, I did what I had to do. Also, oh my god why do I just absolutely love the idea of the Volturi**** owning mobile phones ahhh, I wish they would text me hahaha. Anyways, thanks so much for reading, please leave some feedback or whatever, stay safe, and ily!**


	16. Chapter 16

"Alice?"

I called her over to the room I was staying in as she I spotted her crossing the landing. This was the first time I'd spoken to any of the Cullens since my argument with Bella, so she seemed to be a little wary of me.

"What's up Eli?"

"I've decided, um, how do I put this? I'm leaving Forks and going home. Tomorrow morning, I'm taking the next plane back to England"

"I know you will"

"Wait h- _oh_ your ability, sorry I forget" I giggled lightly.

"Are you sure you really want to leave? Is there anything we can do?" she asked optimistically.

"It's not you, don't worry, it's just…these past few days have taken a toll on my emotions, my entire head feels like it's going to explode, and I just need time to mentally recover. Am I making any sense?"

"Of course, it completely makes sense. Again, I'm so happy for you! I can't believe you've found your true mates!" she squealed, jumping up and down.

"Ssh!" I hissed with a finger over my lips, trying not to draw too much attention to our conversation, "So, I was wondering if you would be okay with driving me to the airport?"

"Gladly, but I thought I'd let you know that Bella feels awful about everything and how she reacted. She would tell you herself, but she's stuck at home, grounded" Alice shrugged.

I hummed, not really knowing what to say to that. As much as I did want to sort things through with Bella, I'd prefer to make up with her properly i.e. face to face rather than through Alice.

"So, my flight leaves at seven in the morning, so would you be okay to drop me off at the airport by four o'clock?"

"Easy, set an alarm for three tomorrow!" she called, running down half of the stairs before leaping over the banister. _That child_.

Happy with my arrangements, I decided to head back into my room and pick up the chocolate lump from my suitcase, placing my phone in my back pocket. I headed downstairs in a much more sensible manner than Alice and walked over to the kitchen, the chocolate bag clutched in my hand.

"What's that?" Emmett's voice sounded.

"Chocolate, want some, vampire?" I quipped, spinning around on my heel to face him.

"Never, Mistress Volturi" he countered with a smirk.

"Then let me eat it in peace, thanks" I grabbed a bowl from one of the cupboards, dropped the massive lump of chocolate with a thud, and placed it in the microwave for thirty seconds.

Emmett broke the temporarily awkward silence, "So, you have three true mates?"

"Yeah, it's kinda crazy, and a little weird" I laughed.

"What are they like?"

"My mates?"

He hummed in response. I'd always been very awkward when it came to discussing my relationships, and the kings were no exception apparently.

"I mean, they're nice, and thoughtful I guess, and wealthy," I giggled timidly just as the microwave beeped, "yay, my chocolate is ready!"

I opened the door, the sweet chocolate scent filling up the entire room. Grabbing a spoon, I settled down at the kitchen table, Emmett gazing at my snack.

"Again, want some, vampire?" I offered my spoon over to him.

"I'm never making that mistake again," he held his palms out, "but seriously, what's it like being romantic with three guys?"

I almost choked, dropping my spoon in my bowl, "Sorry?"

"Like, how does having three mates even work? Are they attracted to each other?"

"Ew, no, Emmett!" I scrunched up my nose at the thought which seriously disturbed me, standing up and grabbing my bowl.

"So, they all think you're hot, but they have no feelings towards each other?"

"Uh, yeah, geez, I'll never get that image out of my head, thanks!" I laughed childishly, running back into my room with my food and closing the door behind me to prevent Emmett from following me in and harassing me with any further questions. _Yuck, what the fuck Emmett!_

My entire body clock was still very confused after all of the travelling, arguing, and crying I'd done that day so, despite the time being _23:36_, I'd never felt more alive. Once I'd finished the entire bowl of chocolate and had packed up all of the belongings I'd taken out of my suitcases, I decided to play some music on the iPod the kings had gotten me. Sure, it was a little disappointing that 'My Neck, My Back' wasn't on it thanks to Caius' music censoring services, but at least I still had some absolute bops on there.

* * *

A sudden bright light interrupted my peaceful sleep, giving me a throbbing headache. Confused and delirious, I waited for my eyes to adjust so that I could find out what the hell was happening.

"Eli, I told you to set an alarm, its _3:05_!"

_Oh._

"Chill, I'm up, I'm-"

I fell onto the floor on my back, Alice looking down at me with her arms crossed. With a roll of her eyes, she helped me back up to my feet and hurried over to my suitcases. However, instead of simply taking them downstairs, she opened both of them and started rummaging through.

"Alice, I literally just packed those!" I yelled, as items of clothing were left scattered around the corner of the room.

"What about your outfit? You've got to wear something cute!" she excitedly threw a baby pink blouse and black leggings at me.

"Can't I just wear this?" I gestured to my jeans and t-shirt, which were now left creased.

"Just wear this, I promise it'll look so casual yet stunning" she patted the clothes which she'd folded into a neat pile before cleaning up the mess of clothes and taking both suitcases down the stairs.

Despite the airport at 4am not exactly being a fashion show, I still wore the outfit Alice had chosen out. Don't get me wrong, that girl knows style, but there's a limit. I picked up my phone and cushion and headed downstairs, just to be joined by the entire household stood by the door.

"Is there anything we can say to talk you out of leaving?" Carlisle asked hopefully.

"As I explained to Alice earlier, it's not you, it's me. I just need space, to be away from everyone. It's been a weird, weird week to say the least," I drew my eyebrows together and awkwardly laughed, "and anyway, I'll be back for graduation"

"We completely understand, and apologise if we in any way put you in an uncomfortable situation. Again, you are very lucky, Eli. We wish you all the best" Esme beamed, lightly squeezing my arm.

"Thank you for having me," I said before glancing over at Alice and Jasper, who were both stood by the front door, "I'm going to head off now so… bye for now I guess" I called behind me.

"Thank you for coming-"

"Bon voyage!" Emmett waved embarrassingly.

"_Toodles_!" I theatrically yelled in response.

"'Toodles'?" Jasper asked once we were in the car, sat in the driver's seat while Alice occupied the passenger seat, allowing me to spread out across the backseat.

"I want to say it's a British thing, but it's not really, I just say it because I can," I responded, waving my hand, "drive"

"Diva" he muttered under his breath as Alice chuckled and placed her hand in his.

"Is this your first time flying in business class then?" Alice turned her head to me.

"Yeah my mates, that sounded weird, booked the tickets for me and sent me the booking details, insisting that I fly business class" I waved the sheets of paper in my hand.

"That's what you get when you're mated to three wealthy men" she chuckled lightly, adjusting her lip gloss in the mirror.

There wasn't really much conversation between us in the car, mostly because I was still in a dazed state so my attention span was pretty slim, but also because me leaving early had made things a little uncomfortable. Before I left, I honestly just felt guilty due to the fact that I was really only leaving them early because I had a small fall out and I'm a hormonal teenager with mood swings. I stared out of the window into the darkened and silent streets, the moon being the only faint source of light. I didn't know how but I was already missing my mates so much that it hurt, longing to be back with them. At the start of the week, I'd only just gotten on a plane to Forks, and now I was getting on a plane back having acquired three wealthy mates and one less friend. Well, my parents had always said that I need to be more productive with my time.

"I'm going to miss you so much!" Alice hugged me tightly, rocking us from side to side.

"I'll be back for graduation, chill out" I giggled, pulling away from her freakishly-strong grip.

"You should come to our graduation party as well!" she squealed.

"I can't say no" I laughed awkwardly, well knowing that I would be staying in their house so I'd be at the party in anyway.

"See you soon, Eli" he smiled, briefly wrapping a loose arm around me.

"You too, don't be a stranger!" I called behind me, wheeling one suitcase behind me in each hand with my booking details held under my armpit, "_toodles_!"

If there was one thing I hated, it was being in airports on my own. See, ever since I was little, I'd had a habit of daydreaming and hence getting lost, so that combined with my nonexistent navigation skills never ended well. Once I'd made it through the hell that I like to call airport security, I settled down in the departures lounge for the next hour, using my two suitcases as a footrest.

"Eli" I felt a nudge on my shoulder.

Turning around, my eyes locked on Demetri, who took a seat beside me. His usually crimson eyes were now a dark teal colour due to contact lenses.

"Where have you been?" I asked.

"Guarding from a distance. Just thought I'd say goodbye as I'm off back to Volterra. You will still have three guards at all times in the UK, but I will not be one of them" he replied.

"Can you tell me who they are? Or at least if I know them?" I pleaded.

"You're friends with all three," he chuckled, "I hope to see you soon"

"You too" I responded, but he was already gone. _Damn, why they gotta be like that? I didn't even get a chance to hug him._

After the hour long wait, which consisted of me daydreaming, making fun of holiday makers, and tapping my thighs in a bored fashion, I finally headed to the gate. However, the woman at security referred to me as "Miss Volturi", which really caught me off-guard. _Was it really that hard to use my actual surname in the booking? Aro knows it as well! _For some reason, she didn't even question the fact that my passport showed my surname as "Arrowood", and instead proceeded to wish me a happy flight.

As soon as I made it into my seat, I pulled my phone out of my pocket to turn it on airplane mode, only to be met with a message from Marcus.

_Have a pleasant flight il mio amore. Xx_

He sent kisses? Awh, that's sweet. Pulling my cushion closer to me and crossing my legs, I typed a hasty reply.

_Thank you again, for everything xx_

The seats in business class for long haul flights are more similar to mini hotel rooms than seats. The padded leather chairs reclined back into beds, there were pillows, a TV and headphones, snacks, water, even slippers. It was considerably quiet around, me being one of the only passengers in this part of the plane. One of the air hostesses came around and asked me if I was old enough to drink, offering me a glass of red wine. In response, I gave her a look of bitch-I'm-17-and-flying-alone-so-no-and-besides-it's-only-seven-in-the-morning-who-do-you-think-I-am, to which she quickly scurried away to the next person who was sat a few rows in front of me. One offer I did accept was when the same woman came back around to my seat a few hours later with a plate full of warm chocolate chip cookies.

Looking out of the window, I was met with an instant feeling of regret. Maybe I should've stayed in Forks, maybe I should've spoken to Bella properly instead of avoiding all of my problems. It just seemed immature, my reaction to everything. Either way, it was too late now, the plane had quite literally left the airport, and besides, I'd be back for graduation in anyway. It was going to be a long two months…

**Author's note: Wow, lockdown has had me stir crazy so you now get another goddamn chapter, you're so welcome HA! This one kinda sucks as it's so short and nothing happens, but it's really just a gap filler for what's to come later ;)  
On the plus side, Eli is still on okay terms with the Cullens, so yay, and I'm really looking forward to writing the next few chapters ahhh! Anyways, I hope you enjoyed reading, be sure to leave some feedback, stay safe, and ily lots!**


	17. Chapter 17

I flopped back onto my bed after flinging my school bag in the direction of my wardrobe, my arms spread out as I let out a melodramatic groan. I'd been away from the kings for almost a month and a half now and, I know it sounds cliché and overly-dramatic, but the aching feeling in my muscles had been increasing by the day. The best way to describe it is probably growing pains, the aches occasionally preventing me from even sleeping. I was _literally_ aching to get back to them.

"If your muscles are really that sore, maybe we could buy you some multivitamins. I know they sell some at the supermarket or maybe the doctor-"

"I'm fine mum, stop trying to feed me vitamins" I grunted, staring intently at the ceiling.

"Okay, fine, but my offer still stands baby" she called, wandering lightly back down the stairs while singing some obscure song she'd heard on the radio earlier.

I would never tell her or my dad about my true mates, not unless I had a death wish. Just imagine their reaction if I casually strolled up to them and said '_hello mother, hello father, just thought I'd let you know that I am in a very romantic relationship with three wealthy old vampires who live in a castle in Italy, one of whom has anger management issues, one who can read every thought you've ever had just through holding hands, and another that can see the bonds between people, and being kept separate from them is what has been causing me my constant muscle pain_'.

On the plus side, I only had less than one month of school left, and then I was done, finito, kaput. My final exams had served as a pretty good distraction from my crippling separation issues, the stress being the only thing I concerned myself with at this point. A few times, I'd managed to talk the kings into helping me study by emailing them flashcard questions and making them read the questions out to me at random. See, that's what's great about being so close to a bunch of ancient artefacts; with a long life comes extensive general knowledge.

During my second week back at school, I'd forgotten to bring all of my coursework and so, in a lazy attempt to get myself out of trouble, I stood outside the building of my class and called out to see if there were any guards around. Funnily enough, Felix, Jane, and Santiago all emerged from around the corner. Though, once I'd explained my situation to them, they seemed to be anything but impressed.

"Eliana, we're supposed to guard you from any actual threats, not run errands simply because you're terrified of your teacher"

"Oh chill out, it's literally just one little thing. I promise, it'll never happen again"

And it didn't happen again, not to my coursework in anyway. The thought of constantly being watched and followed everywhere I went was very unnerving and felt quite unnecessary, especially considering that I even lived in an area of England which had one of the lowest crime rates in the country.

I sat in my pink desk chair, opening up my psychology binder and continuing with my dead boring revision. _A few more weeks, a few more weeks, a few more weeks_…

My phone vibrating on my desk completely caught me off-guard, causing me to fall backwards off my chair and onto the floor. I clumsily climbed back up and slid it across the desk into my hand, answering it while still attempting to regain my breath.

"Yes?" I panted.

"Someone is eager to speak to us, I see" Caius remarked smugly.

"I fell off my desk and," I took in a sharp breath, "I had to climb back up to grab the phone," I wheezed heavily, "before I missed the call"

Are you hurt, _tesoro_?" Marcus voice chimed in.

"No, just out of breath," I laughed, gently closing the door to my room and sitting back in my desk chair, "the aching is only getting worse, by the way"

"We are very sorry to hear that, _cara mia_," Aro said, "we would visit sooner if we were able to, although we may be able to move a few meetings-"

"Let me stop you right there. Please don't sabotage your jobs just because my body is acting up" I insisted with a giggle.

"Hmm, if you insist" he responded mischievously, as if he was up to something.

"How has your day been?" Marcus asked.

"Eh, same as usual. Went to school, came home, my mum offered me multivitamins again, I answered the phone to you" I recited.

"Maybe you should try the multivitamins, _carissima_" Caius suggested.

"I have, and I can confirm they make no difference whatsoever," I sighed, "though, on the plus side, I only have a few weeks of school left, so it's not long now"

"If it makes you feel any better, the discomfort you are experiencing currently is reflecting on both sides of the bond. All three of us have become quite restless recently" Marcus informed me.

"Oh, really? I'm sorry…" I trailed off, genuinely feeling bad that, simply due to me not being in Volterra with them, they were the ones suffering.

"Do not apologise, _carissima_. You are truly experiencing much more discomfort than us due to all three of the mating bonds being connected back to you" he assured.

"That's great," I answered deadpan, "I have another final exam on Wednesday" I attempted to change the conversation topic.

"In what subject?" Aro asked.

"Law. Its times like this where having you three around would help" I humoured.

"I am sure you will do very well, do not underestimate your intelligence Eliana"

"Still, I reckon if you were to sit the exam, you'd get a way higher mark than me"

"Perhaps, but it does not mean to say that you will not do exceptionally" I could hear his smile through the phone.

"I guess we'll see" I giggled, falling backwards onto my bed with a soft thud. I honestly felt like I was in some kind of cringey teen romance movie at this point.

"Are you still certain that you want to go back to the Cullens' residence after graduation?" Caius asked with a tinge of anger in his tone.

"Well, I did promise, and if anything I'm quite looking forward to it. I've never been to a graduation before" I responded.

"Never?"

"Never, that's what you get for being educated in the UK," I shrugged, "why, have you been to a graduation?"

"No, but Carlisle sends photographs of his coven graduating every few years, and we did attend once" Caius added.

"We'd better leave you to rest. If I am correct, it is getting quite late, and we would not want you to lose any sleep" Aro spoke softly.

"You're only one hour ahead of me" I laughed.

"Is it late?"

I looked over at the clock on the right end of my desk, and I saw that it had already hit the evening.

"Maybe," I admitted, "I need to finish this essay first though"

"Of course, do not let us distract you. Goodnight, _il mio amore_" Marcus murmured.

"Sleep well,_ carissima_" Caius chimed.

"_Dormi bene, bellissima_" Aro called, before hanging up the phone.

I continued working on my essay for a few hours, my mother bringing a plate of chicken and chips upstairs for me to eat while I worked. The only real thing that motivated me to finish the school year was the thought of spending the summer in Italy, or visiting the Cullens again. I still hadn't really spoken to Bella since our little disagreement, though I did briefly message her once or twice. I just hoped she was doing okay, but I was way too stubborn to be the first to break the silence between us. Surely, if we'd been best friends for this long, one argument wouldn't end it all.

* * *

I arrived back home and sat back on my white leather sofa, my bag left discarded on the floor. My parents were out on a work trip for the next few days as they often are, which left me home alone again. When the kings had heard about this, they were very concerned about my safety at first, but I had reassured them that one: I was 17, two: I was responsible, three: there were guards literally surrounding my house, and four: what actual threats were my human parents going to protect me from?

I'd only settled for a few minutes having taken my shoes off, my usual aches somehow going down significantly, before the doorbell rang. Rolling my eyes, I lazily stumbled over to the door, opening it to be met by my ex-boyfriend stood on my doorstep.

"Noah. Um…why are you here?" I crossed my arms over my chest.

Noah wasn't much taller than me, put it by this way, all three of the kings are way taller, but he still had an intimidating feeling around him nonetheless.

"Why do you think?" he snapped.

"Oh, did you want your hoodie back? It's in my wardrobe somewher-"

"No, I'm here to talk to you. What the fuck Eli?"

"Awh, little Noah's using big words now, is he?" I teased, standing to the side to let him storm through into my living room.

"You broke up with me through the phone? What, are you too much of a pussy to say it to my face?" I'd never seen him this angry, or genuinely hurt before. But still, how _dare_ he.

"Excuse me?" I spoke through my clenched teeth.

"You heard me, why didn't you just talk to me? We could've talked this whole thing through? But _no_, Eli decided she's better than everyone else"

"Noah, calm down, it's not as easy as that" I explained as calmly as possible, both of us stood either side of the round side table.

"And without explanation either!" his fists slammed on the table.

"Okay, what the actual fuck? That's not even a valid argument! I tried to explain myself further, but you hung up the phone and blocked me, so who's the pussy now?" I yelled, my fists also slamming down on the table.

"What did I ever do to you?"

"Just leave me alone!" I screamed, throwing my arms out which ended up sending an empty mug on the table flying in his direction, smashing against the wall before shattering on the ground. Tears were beginning to form in the corners of my eyes.

"Stop being such an entitled bitch!" he bellowed, smashing a vase against the table. I felt a sudden sharp pain on the right side of my face, and we both became completely silent, his face taking on a horrified expression.

"Eli, I-"

Before I even had the chance to comprehend what was happening, a pair of cold arms flew around me, pulling me closer to them. Meanwhile, I looked over to see that Noah was being held against the wall by his neck by Caius, his feet inches from the ground as he squirmed in his grasp. Aro stepped around from behind me and…Marcus apparently, gently examining the side of my face which was still throbbing with pain. He tutted as he cupped my cheek with his hand, a frown on his face, before spinning back around to face Noah with a forced, slightly psychotic smile.

"Noah was it?" he clapped his hands together joyously, tilting his head to the side with a grin.

I tried to wriggle free of Marcus' hold, but it only became tighter as he gently shushed me, protectively holding me close to his chest. Caius growled, his grip around Noah's throat becoming tighter and tighter; it was a miracle he was still conscious.

"You see, you have in fact hurt our mate. Now that is truly a regrettable decision on your part" Aro stepped closer with his hands held together, Caius teeth edging closer to Noah's neck.

"Don't hurt him!" I yelled as tears began to run down my cheeks, now squirming more than I was before, "Please, j-just let him go Caius"

Caius turned his head to me, his black eyes locked on mine, before snapping back around and snarling at Noah, their faces only a few millimetres apart. Aro lightly tapped Caius on the shoulder and shook his head, causing him to reluctantly release his grip of his victim. Noah dropped back down to the ground with a painful-sounding thud and crawled back onto his feet with a terrified look on his face, stumbling out of the front door and slamming it behind him.

Aro dashed back over to me and glanced again at the side of my face while the tears I'd been attempting to hold in poured down my face. Carefully, he picked me up from Marcus' grip and held me in his arms, swiftly carrying me upstairs into my bedroom and sitting me down on his lap on the beanbag in the corner of my room. I sobbed into his chest, curling up as close to him as possible and burying my face in his jacket. He quietly hushed me, whispering sweet nothings in my ear while my tears continued to soak his black shirt and velvet waistcoat. Marcus knelt down on the carpeted floor beside us, soothingly rubbing circles on my thigh with his right hand.

If it was any consolation, my muscles were no longer aching, but the right side of my face was still stinging painfully. Everything happened too fast for me to actually see what had happened, but I assumed maybe Noah had accidentally whacked me in the face or something.

Looking around the room to see where Caius was, my gaze fixed on him stood glaring out of the window, all of the muscles in his body tense as his face twitched. He held his hands in tight fists, and I'm sure his knuckles would've gone white if he actually had blood. I also noticed that their black cloaks had been left discarded on my bed, the calming scent of all three of them filling up the room.

My tears were finally beginning to dry, my breathing steadying back to its normal rate. I took in a sharp breath and bit my lip at the stinging pain on my cheek.

"Are you in pain, _il mio amore_?" Marcus asked quietly, his head rested on my legs.

"A little," my voice quivered slightly, "I'm sure it's not that bad"

I sat up straight, pressing a chaste kiss to Aro's jaw and squeezing Marcus' hand, before sliding off of Aro's lap as he removed his hands from around my waist. Wandering over to the bathroom, I looked in the mirror and gasped.

"_Shit_!"

Not only was all of my mascara smeared down my cheeks, but there was also a long slash across my face, running from my right temple down to where my dimple was. _Well, I guess I won't be smiling for a while_.

"There is no need for such profanities" Marcus remarked as he leant against the doorway.

In an instant, he had grabbed a wet cloth and a tube of antiseptic cream from under the sink, spinning me around by my shoulders to face him. Up close, I noticed how stunning his eyes actually were, his crimson irises shining in the white light of the room. I grimaced as he gently cleaned the wound for me, inspecting it carefully so as not to cause any more pain than necessary.

"I'm surprised you know anything about first aid" I laughed before hissing another sharp sting.

"Hm," he gently ran his hand across the side of my face, "you are too kind for your own good, Eliana" he spoke softly, ensuring he was gentler around where the cut was deepest.

"Do you think I should've let Caius kill him?" I asked with a whimper.

He paused, "He hurt you, _tesoro_" was his only response.

Once Marcus had finished tending to the gash on my face, I turned to the mirror, attempting to inspect it for myself.

"Does it look that bad?" I raised an eyebrow.

"I would not worry about your appearance, _bellissima_" he murmured, pressing a soft kiss to my forehead.

"Thank you, Marcus" I whispered, wrapping my arms around his torso as he pulled my body against his into a tight hug.

Pulling away, I headed back into my bedroom, deciding to try and comfort Caius. Aro was still sat comfortably on my beanbag as he mindlessly tapped his fingers on his thigh, but Caius seemed to be brimming with fury. I'd never seen him this aggressive before, and I was seriously worried about him.

"Caius?"

I approached him from behind, joining him in gazing out of the window. At least his eyes were no longer black, but instead were now their usual crimson hue. Rather than giving me any verbal response, he simply placed his much colder hand over mine, entwining our fingers together. His grip was very tight though, almost too tight.

"Ouch?" I winced slightly, causing him to instantly let go and take a cautious step back.

"I'm sorry, _cara mia_" he muttered at the floor, still a slight bitterness in his voice.

I suddenly stepped back towards him, wrapping my arms around his body and holding him close to me. It was only then that I realised just how tense he was, all of the muscles in his body completely stiffened. He seemed to loosen under my touch, placing his hands around my waist with his face pressed into the crook of my neck. I realised how much I'd missed this for the past month, missed being held comfortingly in his arms.

"He tried to hurt you" Caius muttered into my neck, his cold lips brushing against my skin.

"But he didn't deserve to die" I responded, running a hand through his snowy blonde hair.

"Marcus is correct; you are too kind for your own good" he growled softly.

"Well, I'm sorry for taking away your light afternoon snack babe" I joked and, despite Caius seeming to take a liking to me calling him 'babe', he gave me a glare, to which I pressed a hesitant kiss to his cheek.

**Author's note: Haha the Volturi are back! This chapter was actually a lot of fun to write for some reason, and I hope you enjoyed it. Thank you so much for reading, stay safe, be sure to leave some feedback because I love reading your comments (they honestly make my day so thank youuuuu :)) and ily!**


	18. Chapter 18

"There are so many risks; we simply cannot allow you to cook"

"What, am I supposed to starve instead?"

I opened the one of the wooden cabinets in the kitchen and pulled out a saucepan along with a bag of pasta. The kings had spent the last few minutes attempting to talk me out of cooking myself dinner by listing all of the unlikely scenarios that could occur.

"We can cook for you, _tesoro_" Marcus responded, turning on the cold water tap while I filled the pot with water.

"As kind as that offer is, I've got it under control" I assured and gently pushed them out of the way, placing the saucepan on the hob.

Everything was going pretty smoothly, and I explained to them that I would be making myself a simple tomato pasta bake, until a tiny droplet of boiling water landed on my hand. I hissed lightly as it wasn't too painful and stepped forward to continue cooking. However, before I even had the chance to regain grip of the handle, a pair of hands grabbed my waist and lifted me up, spinning me around and placing me back down facing the other direction.

"What the-"

I spun my head around to find that Aro had taken over my position and was now continuing to cook the pasta for me, tapping the wooden spoon on the edge of the pot.

"_Cara mia_, it is not safe for you to be near boiling water" he chuckled condescendingly and adjusted the heat on the hob slightly with a click.

"Aro, I've got it" I tried to squeeze past him but Caius blocked my way, backing me up into the island in the middle of the kitchen with his arms either side of me protectively.

"No, you have not got it. You could have easily caused serious injury to yourself, _carissima_" he insisted.

"Besides," Aro's voice chimed in from behind, "when is it that you will refer to myself and Marcus as 'babe'?"

So _that's_ what he was after. Huh, who would've guessed that Aro was simply just jealous due to the fact that he wasn't the first one to be called by a pet name? I should've guessed really, he did always come off as the jealous type in all honesty.

"Fine, _babe_, please step aside" I swerved around Caius and shoved Aro lightly so he would step out of the way.

Aro now had the smuggest grin I'd ever seen on his face, the three of them still watching my every action intently to ensure that no more dangerous situations arose. Fifteen or so minutes later, I was finally finished with my masterpiece with enough food to feed a family. In hindsight, maybe I shouldn't have used the entire bag of pasta.

"Marcus, babe, can you please pass me a bowl? They're in the cupboard over there" I gestured, grabbing a serving spoon out of the drawer.

He quickly handed me a bowl and, although not quite as obvious as Aro, he seemed pretty smug as well. Once I'd served myself, I pushed past them and into my living room.

"Outta the way!" I yelled dramatically while carrying my overfilled bowl of pasta.

The three of them followed me over to the sofa, Caius and Marcus quickly sitting on the ends while Aro reclined back casually in the seat between them. I looked around confused until Aro instantly grabbed me by my waist and sat me on his lap with a light chuckle. _Well, I guess my mother was right; a sofa for three people can sit four people after all._

"Do you want to watch something?" I leaned forward and picked up the TV remote from the coffee table before leaning back into him.

"We can watch whatever you would like" Caius answered and comfortably rested his feet on the table.

"We could watch an episode of The Middle" I flicked onto the first episode and pressed play.

"The Middle?"

"Yeah, you'll love it" I giggled as Aro rested his chin on my shoulder with his arms still tightly wrapped around me.

I'd finished my dinner only a few minutes into the episode, placing my empty bowl back down and curling up much more comfortably into Aro. The three of them didn't seem particularly interested in the show, and honestly neither was I.

"Do you guys need to, you know, drink blood?" I asked.

"Human blood can easily sustain us for up to two weeks, and we fed before arriving here" Marcus replied, his left leg crossed over his right.

"So you're definitely not going to randomly fancy a snack and drain the blood out of me" I raised an eyebrow.

"All three of us have excellent self-control, we would never dare to. Besides, the mating bond would never allow us to kill you"

"Not kill me per say, but you could still drink enough to leave me alive" I laughed awkwardly.

"_Bellissima, _we will never hurt you" Caius placed a hand on my thigh while Aro pulled me closer to him reassuringly, my feet now on Marcus' lap.

"Hold up," I sat up straight, "I thought I said _not_ to come and visit just because I'm in pain"

"Actually, you said, and I do quote, 'please don't sabotage your jobs just because my body is acting up'" Aro responded, mimicking my voice.

"Your point being?"

"My point being that we did not 'sabotage' our jobs, but rather simply put them on hold for the next few days" he grinned, clearly proud of himself.

"That's not what I meant" I crossed my arms and scrunched up my nose at him.

"In that case, maybe we'd best leave" Marcus teased, standing up along with the other two.

"No, no, no, no, no."

I was pushed onto my feet along with them until I forced Aro backwards as hard as I could, eventually causing him to fall back with me on top of him, followed by Caius and Marcus resuming their previous seats.

"So you would prefer us to stay?" Caius asked.

"Obviously" I giggled, leaning back with my head on Caius' lap so that I was spread out across all three of them. It was a little weird lying in that position, what with where my head was placed, but oddly comfortable as well.

"Then there is no issue here" Marcus added smugly.

"None whatsoever" I shrugged as Caius ran his fingers gently through my hair.

* * *

"Do you _have_ to attend school tomorrow?" Caius asked with a groan.

"Only a few more weeks"

It was now getting a little too late to still be up. With the three of them sticking around by my side all evening, I hadn't even notice just how quickly the time had flown by. I crawled onto my bed and laid down in the middle, Marcus on my right while Caius relaxed on my left.

This left Aro wandering around my small room, assessing the situation and how he was going to spend the night. All of a sudden, he decided it a good idea to attempt to shove Caius off of the bed by pouncing on top of him. The pair of them continued to rugby tackle each other for the space for a few minutes, careful of accidentally hurting me in the process. In all honesty, I had no idea what was happening, their bodies a blur of movement beside me.

"Brother, I was here first" Caius gritted his teeth, struggling to shove Aro off.

"That means nothing" Aro snarled with his forearm pushing down on Caius' neck.

"God, you're like a bunch of toddlers" I remarked, shuffling closer to Marcus' side.

With that comment, Aro decided to fix his attention on me, instantly pinning my arms above my head as he hovered above me with a playful look on his face.

"Did you want to repeat that?" his black hair fell around us, though I could still hear Caius and Marcus' amused chuckles from either side.

"Repeat what?" I played innocent, biting my bottom lip.

His irises looked like they darkened for a split second while he stared at my lips intently, before fixing his gaze back to my eyes. Swiftly, he kissed me tenderly and climbed back off, perching on the end of the bed.

"You do not make things simple, _bellissima_" he murmured, running his tongue along his lips.

Instead of actually responding with a witty comeback like I usually would, I started giggling uncontrollably, rolling over onto Marcus' lap in a fit. The three of them looked on in bemusement which only made me laugh harder, until it started to cause my cut to ache painfully.

"Ahh" I gasped and clasped my hand over my face.

"Be careful, _il mio amore_" Caius leant over, soothingly cupping my cheek with his cold hand.

"Thank you" I replied sheepishly, sitting back up and yanking the duvet from underneath him so as to settle under the covers.

Curling up into his side, Marcus placed a gentle hand on my waist while Aro continued to awkwardly sit on the end of the bed. I opened my mouth to invite him to lay closer but before I had the chance to say anything, a thud sounded from the windowsill. All four of us turned our heads in unison, and Caius was instantly on his feet, firmly grabbing what looked like something furry…_shit_.

"CAIUS, STOP, THAT'S MY CAT!" I screamed just before he had the chance to throw him out of the window.

"Your cat?" he turned around, my cat now held uncomfortably with an unimpressed look.

"Yes, my cat," my heart rate began to level out again, "his name is Fernando, and you almost yeeted him out of the window, you crazy vampire!"

In response, he casually tossed the black and white tabby cat onto the bed, to which he meowed at Caius. He did that a lot to people, and I even considered renaming him chatterbox once.

"Filthy animal" Caius hissed under his breath, earning a chuckle from Marcus and Aro.

"Come on, baby boy, ignore Caius" I cooed, picking him up and cuddling him in my arms.

"Loves the cat more than us" Aro muttered so quietly it was a miracle I even heard, staring up at the ceiling.

"What was that?" I asked, spinning around to face him while still holding onto Fernando. He also decided to chip in to the conversation and let out a pathetic meow.

"Does Fernando understand basic manners?" he scowled at Fernando as I placed him down gently on my bed.

"No, why do you think I wanted to rename him 'chatterbox'?" I responded, resting back down under the covers between Marcus and Caius.

Aro went to lie down with his head on my torso just before Fernando leapt in, curling up in a tight ball on my chest. This left Aro frozen on his hands and knees beside me, still shooting death glares at my cat.

"I wish I was that cat" he scoffed quietly and settled back across my thighs.

"He even looks like you, brother" Caius teased, causing Aro to kick him in the shin.

* * *

_The room is surrounded by ornate marble walls, a little amount of sunlight streaming through the small windows above. I hold onto Alice's arm tightly, hiding my face behind her shoulder to draw as little attention to myself as possible._

"_What a happy surprise!" the man with dark hair stood in front the middle throne gestures excitedly, "Bella is alive after all. Isn't that wonderful? I love a happy ending," he gently grasps Edward's hand, "they are so rare"_

_His eyes glaze over as if he's in fact daydreaming, leaving a deafening silence between us._

"_La tua cantante," he gasps, "her blood appeals to you so much, it makes me thirsty. How can you stand to be so close to her?"_

"_It's not without difficulty" Edward replies sternly._

"_I can see that" the man lets out a soft chuckle, switching his gaze between Edward, Bella, and Alice._

"_Aro can read every thought I've ever had with one touch, and now you know everything," Edward scowls at him menacingly, "so get on with it."_

_Aro's face turns to that of concern as he turns his head to glance over again at Alice. My grip on Alice's top becomes tighter, fear mixed with some other emotion taking over my mind itself. The man instantly drops Edward's hand and glides elegantly towards us._

"_Although, it appears you have brought another human companion along with you, how delightful" he adds with a sense of false joy, his footsteps echoing through the hall as he edges closer to where I'm stood._

"_She does not concern you, she has nothing to do with this" Edward steps forward to defend me, only to be held back by a much taller man in a light grey cloak._

_Aro chooses to ignore Edward's comment, tilting his head slightly as he peers around Alice to where I'm stood with my face hidden in her shoulder._

"_Do not fear us, young one" he steps back with a menacing appearance, his pale hand extended out in front of him._

_My cover is taken away as Alice is pulled to the side, allowing me to hesitantly shuffle forward towards him. My heart rate quickens achingly with every second as if my heart is going to burst out of my chest. Before I have the chance to take his hand, the bored-looking brunette man stands to his feet, handing Aro his hand while studying my face himself. Both of them stare at me intently, Aro's darkened eyes widening unsettlingly._

"_Vero amore" he mutters hungrily, once again extending his hand out to me but this time he seemed more demanding than before._

_Warily, I place my trembling hand in Aro's, both of his ice cold hands encasing mine. His grip abruptly becomes firmer, painful, excruciating, like flames erupting through my arms and into my entire body. I try to scream but my mouth remains closed, every limb in my body frozen into place. The other two men pace closer. There is no escape. My breath leaves my lungs, no oxygen flowing back in. My surroundings morph together in a confusing blur, completely removing any sense of sight. The ringing sound in my ears becomes louder, overtaking every thought in my mind. I just want to scream, to scream, to scream-_

My eyes widened open as I sat up straight, my frantic breathing the only sound in the room. The kings looked at me with concern, Fernando hidden away petrified under my desk. Caius' cold hand reached out for mine but I pulled away terrified, fear clouding all my judgement as I shuffled away to leave as much distance from all three of them as possible. I stared at the wall, feeling both confused and scared.

"_Tesoro,_ please talk to us"

I warily turned around so that my gaze met Marcus', but I simply shook my head, pulling my knees closer to my chest.

"Maybe I can be of assistance"

Aro glanced at me hopefully, his hand outstretched towards me. Again, I shook my head in fear, my nightmare not only leaving me confused but scared of my own mates as well.

"Please, Eliana, we only want to help" Caius added sincerely, worry in his tone.

After taking in a sharp, trembled breath, I reluctantly offered Aro my hand. Tears pricked at my eyes while he read my nightmare, his expressions constantly changing from horror, to sadness, to remorse, to fear. He forced himself away sharply as if holding my hand had physically hurt him, while his saddened eyes locked on mine.

"Oh, _cara mia_" he cooed, pulling me into his arms as he held me protectively and ran a hand through my hair.

"Brother?" Caius murmured almost silently.

Aro looked back down at me, as if asking for permission to tell Marcus and Caius what I saw. _Tell them, but do it quickly so I don't need to listen to it again,_ I thought, which he seemed to hear. He nodded his head, before speaking hurriedly in a language I couldn't understand. It wasn't Italian like it usually was, but instead maybe Greek, or something else entirely. Still confused, I stared absent-mindedly into the distance, while Aro continued to hold me close to his chest and tightened his grip every once in a while.

I hesitantly looked up, and my gaze met Marcus' and Caius'. Both of them had almost the same expression as Aro, except Marcus seemed to be slightly more sympathetic while Caius' face had a subtle anger to it. Within an instant, I was pulled onto Marcus' lap, curled up delicately into his chest as if I was the most fragile object in existence. No sobs came out of me, but a lone tear ran down my cheek which fell onto his dark maroon shirt.

"_Sei al sicuro, il mio amore. __Nessuno può farti del male_" he whispered, moving us over to the middle of the bed so that Aro could sit on our right.

My mind still couldn't form any words even if I wanted to say anything. In all seriousness, I didn't remember much at all from my first meeting the kings; all I did remember was fainting and being caught by Aro before I could fall to the ground. Was what I saw true? How much of it?

Caius leant over me and gently pressed his nose into the crook of my neck, the soft hum of his purring lulling me to sleep as his lips soothingly brushed my skin. I wanted to believe that I was safe with them, that I was out of danger, but my conscience somehow didn't trust all three of them and willed me to pull away from their reassuring hold.

**Author's note: A little angsty, this chapter. I think I must've rewatched that scene in New Moon a hundred times by now, I can literally recite it perfectly word for word haha. Hopefully the next chapter I post should answer some questions about Noah and what happens to him as well, but I guess you'll just have to wait and see. Thank you again so much for reading, be sure to leave some feedback because I love reading your thoughts, stay safe, and ily!**


	19. Chapter 19

"Ugh! It's too early," I groaned while my alarm went off on my phone.

"What is that infuriating noise?" Caius growled and dashed over to my desk to turn off the alarm.

"My alarm, it'll go off again in five minutes," I murmured through a yawn, my eyes still closed.

"You need to begin your day, _tesoro._"

I felt a soft hum underneath me as he spoke, and wearily glanced up to notice that I was asleep on top of Marcus. Making another groaning sound, I hid my face in his shirt and stubbornly refused to move.

"Why?" I whined childishly, earning a chuckle from all three of them.

"Because I do believe that you are required to attend school by human law," he responded with a light shove. Still, instead of actually climbing to my feet, I rolled back on top of him and curled up more comfortably than I had before.

"Eliana, we can do this the easy way or the hard way," he warned, making another attempt to motivate me to begin my day. Again, I refused.

Without warning, Marcus was stood up from the bed but, oddly enough, I had my arms wrapped around his neck and my legs around his torso, clinging to him like a drowsy koala bear. His expression seemed to be a mixture of confusion and amusement.

"The hard way it is," he lightly chuckled.

_This vampire_. Again, without warning, he yanked me off of him before lightly tossing me onto the bed like some kind of stuffed toy. My landing was a little uncomfortable, but I'd probably have broken the bed if Aro and Caius hadn't caught me to minimise my fall damage. I landed with Aro's grip under my arms, while Caius arms were wrapped around my waist.

"What the hell was that for?" I stared at Marcus in shock, my mouth forming a perfect 'O'.

"Do not say that I did not warn you," he defended with a chuckle before politely helping me back up off the bed in a much more sensible fashion than previously.

"When you said 'hard way', I didn't think you meant throwing me across the room for a game of catch!"

I threw my arms up in the air exasperatedly and collected my clothes from my chair, heading over to the bathroom to change. Locking the door behind me, I changed out of the leggings and hoodie I'd slept in as quickly as possible, wearing a pale blue t-shirt tucked into a pair of dark grey skinny jeans and a pair of white ankle socks. It was only after making eye contact with myself in the mirror that I noticed the severity of my face. The cut, although dried over, was so damn obvious and…hideous. If that thing left a scar, I would personally track down and kill Noah myself. Actually, I probably wouldn't, but still the motive was there.

Collecting my pyjamas, even though they didn't really count as pyjamas, I headed back to my room, only to find that Caius was missing.

"Um, where did Caius go?" I asked, glancing around to check that I hadn't just gone blind.

"He took the liberty to cook you some food to eat; I do believe you humans call it breakfast?" Aro wondered curiously.

"Yeah, did you not know that?" I laughed, sitting down at my desk with my legs crossed under me.

"I was just confirming. Out of the three of us, Caius in fact has the most knowledge of the preparation of human food," he shrugged.

Marcus sat on the end of my bed with his elbows on the edge of my desk, holding a pack of flashcards I'd prepared a few weeks earlier. "Would you find it beneficial if I were to quiz you before your examination later today?"

"Go ahead, I doubt I'll get a single one but it's worth a shot," I responded, picking up my foundation and beginning the efforts to cover up the wound on my face.

"I am sure you will be able to guess at least a few, _cara mia,_" Aro assured from behind me, now holding a hairbrush and detangling spray.

"Define the term 'diminished responsibility'."

"Um…"

I looked in the mirror and made eye contact with Aro who was stood behind me, brushing through my hair while discretely mouthing the answers. Grinning smugly, I recited his answer perfectly.

"A person who kills or is part of the killing of another is not to be convicted of murder if he was suffering from an abnormality of mental functioning"

"Providing her with perfect responses is not going to assist her in learning, Aro," Marcus scolded.

He gasped melodramatically. "My brother, I cannot believe that you would ever accuse me of such wrongdoing, I was merely styling Eliana's hair."

Aro picked up my hair straightener along with a few hair clips and began clipping sections of my hair up. To be honest, I was never one to use heat on my hair and I'd only ever used my straightener a few times.

"_Il mio amore_, would you like to continue revising?" Marcus asked, narrowing his eyes at Aro.

"Sure, I've got it this time," I hyped myself up and fidgeted slightly which caused the straightener to narrowly miss burning my neck.

"Stay still, the last thing I would want is to injure you," Aro instructed, having somehow already gotten through half of my hair with his freakishly-fast vampire speed.

"Fine, just let me fix this," I gestured to my face and continued blending in my foundation and concealer.

"Define the term 'automatism'."

"Ooh, ooh, I know this one," I squealed, almost dropping my makeup sponge, "It's caused by an external factor, and the defendant has no control over their actions, SO," I added enthusiastically, "they committed the _actus reus_ of the offence but they have no recollection of it. So, like, sneezing would be an example."

"That is almost exactly what you have written here, well done _tesoro_," Marcus beamed.

Aro quickly arranged my hair in front of my shoulders, adjusting it slightly like some kind of professional hairdresser. "_ecco_!"

"'_ecco'_?" I raised an eyebrow.

"It can be translated to English as 'so there'," he smiled smugly, placing the straightener back down and leaving it to cool off.

Surprisingly enough, he actually did a pretty damn amazing job (better than I would've done in anyway). My hair was completely pin straight and parted in the middle, with both sides tucked neatly behind my ears.

"How did you do it so easily?" I asked in shock, admiring his handiwork.

"I highly doubt you would remember," he began, "but during our very first meeting, my hair was straight. You see, we do happen to know a thing or two when it comes to hair care"

"Huh. You know, I used to judge men with long hair, like, a lot. I thought it was kinda weird and hippy, but whatever floats their boat _blah blah blah_, but it's really through you three that I've noticed how good it can look" I rambled.

"Is that s-"

"Your breakfast is ready, _carissima_," Caius interrupted from the kitchen with a subtly aggressive tone. _God, why did that boy always sound angry?_

"I'm coming," I yelled in response, standing up from my chair and checking the work I'd done on the makeup. _Not too shabby, Eli, not shabby at all._

"Thank you both," I briefly hugged each of them and grabbed my bag from beside my wardrobe, "ooh, almost forgot."

I pulled out my iPod and speaker from behind my curtain on the windowsill, waving it around in the air excitedly.

"Is that the gift we got you?" Aro asked, both his and Marcus' faces lighting up.

"Yes of course, and guess what? I added 'My Neck, My Back'!" I jumped up and down on the spot. _Jesus, Eli, you're turning into Alice._

Marcus hummed in thought. "I do not think Caius will take well to you listening to that song, _il mio amore_, especially considering the fact that he was the one who denied it in the first place."

"I guess we'll see, babe" I replied playfully, skipping down the stairs and into the kitchen with my iPod and speaker in my hand.

Caius was patiently stood at the kitchen island, tapping his fingers on the tabletop. In front of him was a delicious looking plate of scrambled eggs and toast. Now I just felt bad for tormenting him with this song, I mean, if only you could see his proud little face as he looked at the food he made…

"Breakfast is served," he slid the plate over to me with a smug grin.

"Thanks babe, the food smells divine," I smiled humbly and plugged my speaker into my iPod for the moment of truth.

While holding onto my slice of toast in my right hand, I used my left to flick through the songs, finding what I was looking for. Once the volume was turned up to its highest, I hesitantly pressed play, taking in another large mouthful of toast.

_All you ladies pop yo' pussy like this,  
Shake your body, don't stop, don't miss,_

"Eliana, turn that disgraceful, unholy racket off this instant!" he snapped.

Well knowing I was setting myself up for disaster at this point, I shook my head and stood up while finishing the slice of toast in my hand, carrying the iPod and speaker around with me.

"Turn. It. Off," he seethed.

"_Do it now, lick it good, suck this pussy like you should,_" I belted out while Caius encircled me from around the kitchen island, practically snarling at the lyrics. However, Aro and Marcus, who were now stood by the doorway, simply watched on in amusement.

Caius quickly materialized in front of me in all of his angry glory. "ELIANA, THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE!"

He leaned over to try and pry it away from me, but instead I ran to the other end of the room, climbing onto one of the wooden chairs tucked under the table and holding it high above my head.

"NO!" I yelled teasingly with a giggle.

"Right," he hissed.

Before I knew it, his arms were wrapped around my waist from behind, pulling me backwards off the chair. I tried to struggle out of his grip in a fit of laughs but he refused to let go, carrying me to the other side of the kitchen. Without even asking, he snatched the speaker from my hand and placed it in the inside pocket of his jacket, a smirk on his face.

"Why? Give it back!" I whined, grabbing onto his jacket and trying to retrieve the speaker back.

"I have no reason to," he snarked, a smug grin on his face.

"You're so boring-"

He instantly had me sat up on the surface of the kitchen island while he stood between my legs, narrowing his eyes at me. Staring at my lips, it seemed that his eyes went black before turning back quickly to their crimson colour, just as Aro's had done the night before.

"Did you say something?" he asked, bringing his face millimetres from mine. Jesus, I had to stop getting myself into situations like this.

"Nope," I answered simply.

With that, he trailed a few soft kisses tenderly from my lips down my jaw to my collar before helping me back off and onto my feet. I turned around to Aro and Marcus, who both had a told-you-so expression on their faces.

"We did warn you," Aro clapped his hands together happily.

I rolled my eyes at them before rotating back around to look up at Caius. "So, when can I get that back then?"

"I shall decide when."

"But come on, that's a gift, from you! You can't do that!" I argued.

"I am Caius Volturi, I do whatever I please," he retorted.

"Sure, blondie," I remarked, picking up my bag again and heading for the front door.

"Do you require a lift?" Marcus asked, jingling the car keys he held in his hand.

* * *

For some reason, people had constantly approached me all day, checking in to see if I was 'okay' and 'dealing with everything fine'. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't off-putting, but I didn't let it distract me and sat my law exam. Funnily enough, both of the terms Marcus had revised with me that morning came up, so I'd have to thank him for getting me to pass. Once the exam was over and I headed back to my locker, I was stopped by another girl. I only knew her from my dance class, and even then I wouldn't exactly consider her a friend per say.

"Hey, Eli, are you…okay? You know, with everything?" she asked honestly.

"Oh, er… Emilie…yeah I'm good, yeah," I replied hesitantly, drawing my eyebrows together.

"Okay then, if you ever need to talk about anything, I'm here. Just remember, you're not alone," she smiled sincerely before leaving back down the corridor.

Before I had the chance to question what the fuck just happened, an announcement sounded from the intercom.

"_Students, there will be an assembly held today at one o'clock this afternoon. You are all expected to attend to show your respects during this difficult time_."

'Difficult time'? What the fuck had I missed? Why was everyone apologising to me and checking in on me? My God, there was clearly something someone was refusing to tell me, and I was itching to find out what.

"Good morning students," Mr. Adams greeted once everyone had filed in to the assembly hall. As I was running quite late, I'd only just managed to grab a chair near the back, but I was still close enough to hear what was happening.

"I'm sure you have all heard about the misfortune of the disappearance of Noah Henderson. Our beloved student has been reported missing since four o'clock yesterday evening. The police are currently looking into the disappearance, and are asking anyone with information to step forward…"

The rest of the speech I didn't listen to at all. It was something about 'staying united' and 'entrusting each other' and all that bullshit. This didn't make any sense, I saw Noah yesterday… _shit_! How could I have been so damn stupid? Of course the kings had something to do with it. How else would Caius have been so relaxed literally the day after I made him let go of the guy who hurt me? I wasn't angry that he was…dead? Was he dead? He must've been, that was the only logical explanation. But no, I wasn't angry that he was dead, upset maybe, but I was angry because they'd acted out of instinct, they'd killed one of my closest friends without consulting me, and after I very clearly instructed them to leave him, to not hurt him, to let him go.

"… and that is why we ask you to keep Noah's family, friends, and loved ones in your thoughts. They are going through a very difficult time, and it is best that we support them through this together, as a community."

_Oh, they think __they're__ going through a difficult time, just wait until I get my hands on those three conniving, lying bastar-_

* * *

"Five, six, seven, eight…Eli, you're not concentrating!"

I'd been doing the same routine at dance for the last half hour, but my mind couldn't focus on anything but Noah. They killed him, they fucking killed him. Now it was only a matter of time before they came for every human I know, every friend, and every family member. I mean, I specifically said don't hurt him, please, just let him go', how difficult is that instruction to follow?

"Again, from the top…"

I felt someone nudge me lightly with their elbow, and spun around to face Emilie from earlier on. Quickly, she pulled my arm and whispered into my ear.

"Eli, don't panic, but there are three men in dark suits staring at you by the door," she informed me.

Turning myself around, I realised that the 'three men' she was referring to was in fact the kings, all three smiling lightly once they made eye contact with me. Here we go…

"Thanks, but don't worry about it. I'm off, see you soon" I whispered back to her before darting to the other side of the room and hastily putting on my trainers and hoodie, my backpack slung over my shoulder.

"_Cara mia_, it is lovely to-"

"We need to talk," I hissed angrily and began dragging the three of them back outside.

"And what is this concerning?" Marcus asked confusedly.

"Oh, I think you know," I muttered.

I led the three of them back over to the black BMW they'd brought over with them and hopped into the back seat with Marcus, Aro sat in the passenger seat leaving Caius in the driver's seat. As soon as I was certain all of the doors were closed, I completely snapped.

"What the fuck is wrong with you? All three of you?" I yelled.

The kings sat in shock, their eyes widening at my unexplained rage and fury.

"Excuse me?" Caius murmured angrily.

"You killed Noah? After I specifically told you to leave him alone? How difficult is that instruction to follow? All I asked is that you just leave him the _fuck_ alone and let him go!"

"_We_ did not kill him," Aro protested calmly, gesturing to them, "the guard did."

"The…," I looked at them confused. Were they seriously being for real right now? "They're _your_ guard!"

"However, if I do remember correctly, which I do so do not argue with me on this, you said 'please, don't hurt him. Just let him go, Caius'"

"Your point?" I yelled hysterically.

"My point is that we personally were not the ones to hurt him, and Caius here did release his grip of young Noah just as you instructed," he argued.

"You…you killed Noah! What's wrong with you? What the actual fuck is wrong with you three? As much as he may be pretty fucked up in the head, he is, no _was_, my friend! He didn't mean to hurt me, he was just angry and for good reason. He didn't deserve to die, I made this perfectly clear! But apparently, I wasn't clear enough. No, you managed to find a loophole in what I said and order his death! HIS MURDER!" I screamed, tears now streaming down my face.

"He was a liability!" Caius argued back.

"I don't care about your stupid liabilities! Noah had a family, he had a little four year old sister who's now going to find out that her favourite big brother died, that he went missing and his body was never found! You really think that's okay? Are you honestly okay with that?"

"He hurt you, and not only that but he found out the existence of our kind, _tesoro_. There was no way that we could continue to let him live his life, and he did not deserve that of a vampire," Marcus defended, the calmest of the four of us.

"Oh, don't '_tesoro'_ me! You killed him, you really did just kill one of my friends, my ONLY friends! Who's it going to be next, hmm? All of my other friends? My classmates? My FAMILY?"

"We never meant to bring you this much emotional pain, _cara mia_," Aro murmured solemnly.

"Well maybe you should've thought about that before taking that Noah's life away," I hissed, crossing my arms over my chest and turning my head to face the window.

They'd really done it. I'd hoped all day that maybe his disappearance was just coincidental, that maybe he'd just stayed at a friend's house and would come straight back. But no, he was gone; gone for good.

**Author's note: Well, there you go. I hope you guys enjoyed having Noah while he lasted haha. This chapter was surprisingly fun to write, which probably says something about how messed up in the head I am. Sorry I haven't updated in a few days though, I got distracted reading another fanfic on .net called 'Never Let You Go: The King and His Puppet' which I seriously recommend. Anyways, I'm getting off-topic now haha, thank you so much for reading, be sure to leave some feedback because reading it just makes lockdown that bit better for me, stay safe, and ily!**


	20. Chapter 20

Not a word was spoken between me and the kings for another half hour or so. I didn't want to talk, and there was nothing I was willing to discuss with them. Stepping into the shower, I tried to clean myself and remove my makeup as quickly as possible, turning the temperature of the water to the highest setting without burning myself. Once I climbed out, I caught my gaze in the clouded mirror and went to re-examine the cut.

Although I knew it wasn't getting any worse, it looked more obvious than before. Maybe it was during my hysteria, but the wound had apparently reopened and started bleeding again, leaving my dark crimson blood smeared dry across my cheek. The skin around it was a little red, but not too bad. On the plus side, it definitely looked like it was healing a little, the edges of the cut already narrowing together.

Still furious from earlier, I stormed slightly dramatically out of the bathroom, my towel wrapped around my body. To make matters worse, I'd forgotten to grab any clothes before showering, so now the kings were going to have to witness me in nothing but a towel, like some sort of out-of-control naked child.

The kings were all sat in my bedroom minding their own business. Marcus had picked up my copy of The Hunger Games and was reading it with his feet propped up on my desk, Aro was absent-mindedly solving a Sudoku puzzle I'd left unfinished on my windowsill, and Caius was sketching something on a piece of blank paper with a pink unicorn pencil he'd picked up from my old stationary set. However, as soon as I walked in, all three pairs of piercing crimson eyes turned to me, taking in the fact that I was wrapped in a towel and still dripping wet.

I paused, glancing at each of them. "What?"

"Did we say something?" Caius asked, his back leant against the wall.

"Nope, nothing," I shook my head quickly and picked up a pile of discarded clothes from the floor, "have you seen my deodorant anywhere?"

Aro was in front of me within an instant, handing me the metal spray can. There was an awkward silence between us, which mostly consisted of me holding my breath and him eyeing my body. After a few seconds, he snapped out of his trance and his eyes met mine again.

"I do believe this is what you are looking for," he forced a smile. _God, I hate it when he does that._

I simply replied with a simple "Mhm," before turning around and walking back into the bathroom. I'd always been a pushover to be honest, always forgiven people at the first apology, but this time around they'd seriously fucked things up. Thanks to them, the entire school was under the impression that I was mourning the loss of my boyfriend, that I was going through a hard time. _Oh, if they knew…_

Once I was back in my bedroom, dressed properly this time, I realised that Caius was gone. Again, I briefly searched around the room for him just in case I'd lost all traces of both vision and sanity.

"Where'd Caius go?" I asked deadpan.

"He decided to cook you some food, as I do believe you have not eaten in a few hours." Marcus glanced up from his book for a moment before gazing down again, completely expressionless and apathetic. _Wow, cold. To be honest, I deserve it._

Without a word, I headed out of the room and down the stairs, stopping briefly at the door to the kitchen. After taking in a sharp breath, I hesitantly walked discretely. I found Caius stood over the hob, cooking something that smelt…mushroom-y? _I love mushrooms_. Despite him being well aware that I was literally in the same room as him, there was eerie silence between us. Weirdly enough, one half of me wanted to apologise for snapping at him, but the other half of me wanted him to apologise to me for ordering the execution of my ex. This confusion made it even harder for me to try and start a conversation with any of them, as both the kind and unforgiving sides of my personality were completely contradicting my every action.

Still daydreaming, I hadn't even noticed Aro and Marcus walk in, the two of them literally sat on the wooden chairs to the left of me. I was so incredibly desperate to start some form of conversation at this point as it wouldn't be long until they'd fly or whatever back to Volterra, but not a word came out of me.

"Your dinner," Caius handed a bowl of risotto to me without making any eye contact whatsoever, "I made you mushroom risotto as Aro informed me that that is one of your favourite foods."

"Thank you," I looked down sheepishly, tucking in straight away. Caius seriously needed his own cooking show though, he could work miracles with food.

There was another awkward silence, but it was only getting more painful. I knew it was unrealistic for me to stay silent for the entire duration of their stay and sure, maybe it was their fuck up, but I wasn't going to wait around for them to start the next conversation.

"Right, I can't take this anymore, this whole awkward-silence-in-every-room-I-walk-in-to thing" I sat up with my back straight, glancing at all three of them.

"We simply made the assumption that you were no longer willing to talk to us," Aro responded with a shrug. Did they really need to guilt trip me now?

I sighed heavily. "I'll admit, I was… majorly out of line. I probably shouldn't have snapped at you like that, so for that I am sorry. However, you still did kill, no order the execution of, Noah without even remotely asking me or telling me about it. You left me out on a decision that primarily affected me"

"There was no other choice, _il mio amore_, none at all. We only carried out the necessary precautions to ensure the security of our kind's existence and of you," Marcus pleaded.

"Did you not think to maybe tell me face to face instead of leaving me to find out in a school assembly?!" I snapped, instantly regretting it and ducking my head back down, "sorry."

"No, you are correct. We should have informed you ourselves, that was foolish of us. For that, I apologise," Aro responded with sincerity.

"We only had good intentions," Caius spoke, less anger and more guilt audible in his voice.

"Well, as my grandmother often used to say, 'the road to hell is paved with good intentions'," I countered.

"She sounds nice," he added sarcastically.

"Okay, maybe she was a little dark, twisted, and senile, but she was also very wise," I shrugged.

"We very selfishly did not take into consideration the emotional strain Noah's loss would cause you, and for that we are sorry," Marcus said, placing his cold hand over mine. I didn't pull away but instead flipped my hand over, allowing his fingers to entwine around mine.

"An apology won't bring him back," I murmured solemnly, "but won't the authorities catch on to you?"

"We are vampires, meaning that we have plenty of experience with inconspicuous killings," Aro assured.

I nodded, still a little pissed off, but I loosened up instantly when Caius came and hugged me from behind, wrapping his arms around my waist with his head on my shoulder. I leaned into his embrace comfortably with my left hand still holding Marcus'.

"You make a mean mushroom risotto by the way," I spoke to Caius.

"I will take that as a compliment," he replied, seeming a little confused.

"It was a compliment. What else would it have been?"

"I do not know how you would use the word 'mean' in this context."

"All I meant was you're amazing at cooking mushroom risotto, geez!"

"Watch your attitude, _carissima_," he warned.

"What attitude? I'm complimenting your cooking!" I defended myself while I gestured wildly to the bowl in front of me, taking in the last massive spoonful of risotto.

"That wa-"

"I think that is enough of this insignificant quarrel for today, thank you," Aro interrupted, standing between us.

"Agreed," I smiled before narrowing my eyes at Caius jokingly.

"Do you see the attitude that she is demonstrating? Intolerable!" Caius exclaimed furiously at Aro while shooting death glares at me.

"I was joking!" I retorted.

"What, are you implying that-"

"Brother, that is enough," Aro smiled gleefully, pushing Caius back two steps before stepping over to me and pulling me closer to him with his left arm snaked tightly around my waist. I curled up into him he ran a gentle hand along the length of my body down to my thigh.

"Again, our sincerest apologies, _cara mia_," he whispered.

I simply shrugged, taking in another sharp breath. As much as I much appreciated the gesture of their apologies, a simple 'sorry' wouldn't bring him back. Sure, I kind of see why he had to go, vampiric law and all that jazz, but was it really that crazy to maybe have some input from me in that decision?

* * *

I headed back into the bedroom now dressed in an old hoodie and leggings, still a little annoyed about the absolutely fucking mental day I'd just had. It's not every day that you find out that your ex had his execution ordered by your three thousand year old boyfriends.

It was times like this where I was glad that I'd talked my parents into buying me a double bed rather than that old high-sleeper bed I used to have with a ladder. The kings were all laying comfortably side by side on my bed, with Aro in the middle, Caius on the right, and Marcus on the left, the most relaxed I'd seen them in a while. If vampires could sleep, they would've been sound asleep by this point. I stopped hesitantly at the door, slowly placing down my hairbrush on my desk while still trying to comprehend what the hell was happening.

"Um…hi?"

"Is something wrong, _carissima_?" Caius questioned smugly, tilting his head up slightly and opening one eye.

"Not at all," I awkwardly responded.

After a few moments of uncomfortable silence while I debated how on earth I was going to sleep, I decided to crawl on my hands and knees onto my bed so that I was hovering over Aro, resting myself down on top of him with a light thud. He seemed amused, a light chuckle sounding from him.

"I was under the impression that you are still, as you would often put it 'pissed off'?"

"I am," I answered plainly, "I just knew I'd regret it if I didn't spend as much time with you as possible before you all fly back to your little castle in Italy."

"Little? Is the size of our residence not up to your standards?" Marcus teased with an eyebrow raised, absent-mindedly tracing patterns on my forearm.

"Yes, I'm disappointed that you don't own the whole of Volterra at this point. The fact that you only live in one castle is just sad," I replied deadpan.

"You are almost as painfully-sarcastic as Caius," Aro remarked.

"Excuse me?" Caius hissed.

"He's right, your sarcasm is a little annoying," I added playfully.

"Aro, brother, do something with this insufferable child," Caius groaned, placing his head in his hands.

"This 'insufferable child'," I mimicked, "is your mate, so deal with it!" I giggled.

"Well, I do happen to know that one of dear Eliana's greatest weaknesses is that she is exceptionally ticklish," Aro slyly noted. _Goddamn telepathy._

"You wouldn't."

"I would."

"Please don't."

"Why ever not?"

"What do you mean 'why ever not'? Are you seriously asking that question?"

Instead of responding verbally like a sane person, he decided to slide his hands up my top and tickle my sides, well knowing that that was my weak spot.

"ARO! OH MY GOD STOP IT!" I managed to get out through my uncontrollable laughter while writhing on top of him.

"Do you want me to stop?" he asked innocently.

"Y-YES!" I barely responded while he tickled under my neck.

"As you wish," he let go as I rolled over and ended up lying on my back on top of Caius, still attempting to regain my breath.

Caius looked at me a little confused before encircling his arms around my waist. "How I will ever put up with you is beyond me," he joked.

"Huh, rude," I scoffed, "come on, you know you secretly love having me around."

"Definitely," he answered, his tone laced with sarcasm.

Marcus soft voice chimed in. "_Tesoro_, so you will spend the summer with us?"

"That's the plan," I rolled back over Aro and onto Marcus as he held me to him tightly, "I don't know for sure, but I'm considering, you know, moving in with you guys for the foreseeable future. Maybe, I'm not sure, and only if it's okay with you, but either way I've been considering a few universities abroad, so maybe I could, I don't know, study in Italy?"

"That would be wonderful!" Aro clapped his hands together joyously, "have you applied to any of these universities yet?"

"Well, yes actually. It was sort of a last minute application, but I applied to the University of Pisa, which I think is only an hour or so away from Volterra," I told them, "I thought I might study mathematics there."

"Excellent choice. Even if you are not accepted, remember that you are always welcome to stay with us for as long as you would prefer," Caius assured.

"Thank you, I haven't really decided if there's actually any point in studying though. I mean, it sounds like I'm jumping to conclusions, but as I'm mated to you, surely I'd eventually have to become a vampire and move in with you?"

"That is not something to concern yourself over for the time being. You have the privilege of currently living a young human with many opportunities in life. I do believe there is a saying, 'the world is your oyster'," Aro responded warmly.

"True, true. Either way, I'm coming back so brace yourselves, especially you Caius!" I giggled, glancing at him pointedly.

"Joy," he unenthusiastically murmured into his palm.

"I know, right?" I clapped excitedly, energetically rolling off Marcus and back over onto Aro.

"You'd better rest now, _cara mia_. I am afraid tomorrow you will have to endure another day of your human education system," Aro laughed, pulling a grey throw blanket over me.

"School sucks ass," I quipped, my voice muffled by his chest.

**Author's note: Yeah this chapter turned out shorter than usual, but oh well. I have some really fun plot ideas for this story, and I honestly can't wait for you to see what I have in store for Eli and Co****. It makes me so happy to see how much people are enjoying reading my story, so thank you so incredibly much (if I could hug each one of you, I would). Again, thanks for reading, be sure to leave some feedback, stay safe, and ily!**


	21. Chapter 21

Wearily, my eyes fluttered open as I let out a soft, contented sigh. Warm sunlight streamed comfortably through the window and onto the floor where my cat Fernando was blissfully curled up. I stretched out lazily before becoming limp again, still spread out across Aro. I could've spent all day like this…

"Shit!"

Panicked, I hurriedly untangled myself from my sheets, muttering curses to myself and heading over to my clock to check the time; _9:18_, which meant I was already late for class.

"What is the matter, _tesoro_?" Marcus asked while the three of them also casually stood up off of the bed as if they had all the time in the world.

"Class started almost twenty minutes ago, I'm late!" I yelled, grabbing the nearest pile of clothes and dashing into the bathroom.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit shit!" I muttered while picking up my toothbrush.

How could I be late? I was never late, never ever late. Jesus, I was turning into Corin at this point. Marcus instantly materialised behind me holding my hairbrush, clearly finding my panic-stricken face amusing.

"_Itsh not funn-_" I tried to argue, but my mouth was still full of toothpaste.

"What was that, _bellissima_?" he chuckled, brushing through my hair with ease.

"_I shaid_," I spat out the remaining toothpaste into the sink, "it's not funny."

"I beg to differ," he responded light-heartedly, quickly placing my hairbrush down before taking my arm and leading me down the stairs.

The smell of cooking caught my attention, but I honestly didn't have time for breakfast. Besides, how the hell can someone make food in the space of two minutes? I was dragged by Marcus into the kitchen where Caius briskly handed me what looked like a crêpe filled with chocolate sauce.

"Do not eat it now," he instructed just before it reached my mouth, "Aro will drive you to your school so you may eat in the car."

Before I even had the chance to argue, Marcus had placed my bag over my shoulder and my shoes in my left hand, the crêpe still held in my right. A light honk from a car sounded from just outside which prompted me to head for the door.

"Eliana, wait!" he called from behind me, "take your phone with you in the case of an emergency."

"Will do," I smiled, taking my phone from Marcus' hand, "I'll see you when I get back!"

Without hesitation, I sprinted out of the door and down the front path of my house to the kings' BMW which was parked in the driveway. I realised I was still in my socks after painfully stepping on a piece of broken plastic, which caused me to hop around on one foot to the passenger seat and leap in. Once I'd closed the door, Aro, who it turned out had been sitting there for the past few minutes, instantly sped away from the house at full speed, even faster than Alice would usually drive.

"I thought you had set your alarm last night," Aro remarked with a grin.

"Join the club," I rolled my eyes and stuffed down my breakfast in two bites. In my defence, time was of the essence.

I tied my shoelaces clumsily, stressing out about literally everything at once. My heart was beating out of my chest, my breathing becoming rapid. _Eli, you're fucked, you're supposed to get your Chinese results today but you might miss it thanks to your incompetence_, the little voice inside my head nagged.

"Calm yourself, _cara mia_. We have already called your school to explain the situation, and there should be no repercussions," he assured.

"How did you know that I was panicking?" I raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.

"Your heart rate was a dead giveaway, but you also apparently did not register the fact that my hand brushed against yours a mere few seconds ago," he explained happily.

"Do you have to read my mind at every given opportunity?"

"I view my ability as part of my identity. And besides, if you no longer wanted me to use my ability on you, that would entail ceasing all skin-to-skin contact. Is that what you would prefer?"

"No," I murmured almost silently.

"What was that?" he teased.

"No," I repeated, a little louder.

"No what?"

I growled, "No, I wouldn't prefer to surrender all skin-to-skin contact with you. Happy, babe?"

"Very much so, _bellissima_," he smiled smugly, pulling over just outside the main entrance to the school, "I will see you later."

"_Toodles_!" I yelled crazily as I climbed out of the car, slamming the door behind me and running into the school. _Huh, and I thought today couldn't get any weirder than yesterday._

* * *

I bolted through my front door, slamming it behind me and throwing my bag across the room with a grin on my face.

"I passed Chinese! I actually passed Chinese! I got a pass!" I rejoiced, skipping up and down on the spot while clutching my result paper to my chest. No response.

"Um…hello? Anyone home?" Still no response.

A handwritten letter on a piece of paper with my name on it quickly caught my attention on the kitchen table. Unfolding it hesitantly, I read it over.

_Il mio amore,  
Our greatest apologies, but we have been forced to leave your company much sooner than we would like. Unfortunately there is a pressing matter we must attend to this instant, meaning that we are unlikely to see you until the summer. Caius has returned your speaker and you should find it on your desk. Grazie for allowing us to visit you, we cannot wait to meet again very soon.  
Ti vogliamo bene._

Seriously? They were only here for two days though. I wasn't trying to seem like a brat or anything, and I was lucky that they even visited at all, but I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye properly. Ugh, I barely even had a chance to hug them.

Folding the letter up, I carried it upstairs excitedly with my Chinese result paper. Nothing, I mean nothing, could ruin my mood at this point. I was so sure I was going to fail, and it was probably only thanks to the kings' reluctant tutoring of me that I passed. Fortunately, my bedroom still kind of smelt of them, so it wasn't like they left without a trace.

"Eli?"

"HOLY FUCK!"

I screamed, tripping over onto my carpet on my face in fright. Looking up at my window, I spotted Santiago comfortably perched on my windowsill, his arms crossed with a bemused look on his face.

"I was looking for something more along the lines of 'Santiago, I've missed your holy presence in my life!', but I guess 'HOLY FUCK' will do," he mimicked.

"If you wanted to visit, couldn't you have just come through the door like any other person?" I growled.

"But you of all people know our kind is far from 'normal', and anyway, dude your reaction was priceless!" he burst out laughing, to the point where I thought he was going to fall out of the window.

"Very funny, but who else is guarding me?"

"Why, am I not good enough company for you?" he pouted.

I ignored him. "Where's Jane and Felix?"

"They have to keep guard of the house, you can't have a bunch of house guests but no guard," he answered.

"Then why are you here?" I raised an eyebrow.

"I dunno. Bored," he shrugged.

I shook my head, settling back onto my bed and trying to block out the judgemental Santiago that was now keeping me company.

"By the way, I passed my Chinese exam!" I remembered, hopping off the bed and handing him the piece of paper with the result.

He let out a melodramatic gasp. "Incredible. Never seen anything like it. You, my dude, are a child prodigy."

"Oh, shut up," I snatched it back from him, "my pass was pure luck."

"_Congratulazioni_ Eli, now all you need to do is move to China," he remarked.

"China's always sounded pretty cool though, they have good food."

"Don't they eat, like, dogs and stuff?" he chuckled.

"I think that might just be a little bit of a racist generalisation there, Santiago," I replied disapprovingly.

"What the hell is this?"

I spun around to face him, noticing he was clutching a copy of Girl's Life magazine with Miley Cyrus on the front.

"It's a magazine, stupid," I giggled, "I have loads of them."

"'_Is he into you? How to tell for sure'_, Eli no offence but this is actually bullshit," he swore.

"Don't be like that, it's just a bit of fun," I laid down on the floor, my legs crossed at my ankles.

Santiago grabbed a pile of magazines from the windowsill and settled down beside me, glancing through them and visibly cringing.

"What the hell, Eli? How old are you?" he whacked his face with a copy with Ashley Tisdale on the cover.

"Come on, are you really going to try and convince me you don't like High School Musical?" I leant my head on my right arm, turning to face him.

"No, don't get me wrong, I love it, but why do you even buy these?" he asked, tossing one lightly across the room.

"What can I say? Last year, I was straight-up going through a phase and spent all of my money on a twelve-month subscription," I admitted.

"Hmm, look at this: _'back to school blowout! Make new friends, ace your classes, stress way less'_. Dude, you should start taking advice from these," he read out sarcastically.

"Or maybe you should," I raised my eyebrows up and down teasingly.

He gasped, picking up another copy over-enthusiastically. "This one's a '_super quiz special'_! And look at these: _'Get your dating rating! Are you for real? What's your friendship style?'_" he laughed.

"Well, you're just jealous that my _dating rating_ is higher than yours!" I joked.

"No way!"

"Uh, you're forgetting that I'm quite literally seeing three men at once so… I think that makes my dating rating way better!"

"Right, because they're going to put a box on the quiz with the question, 'How many guys would you say you approximately go out with at any given time?'"

"This jealousy Santiago, wow!" I quipped.

"Mine is probably way higher in anyway!"

"What makes you say that then, hmm?"

"I'm a lot older than you!"

"Actually, how old are you?" I asked him curiously.

"Guess."

"One hundred?"

"Higher."

"Five hundred?"

"A little higher.

"Six hundred?"

"Still a little higher.

"Six hundred and fifty?"

"Ding ding ding! I mean, approximately, I lose count," he responded.

"So what year were you born?" I tilted my head.

"Roughly 1350 AD."

"That's-"

I was interrupted instantly when my mother flinged the door open, an excited smile on her face. Turning around, I noticed that instead of acting like any other vampire and escaping, Santiago was still lying on my floor, Girl's Life magazine in hand.

"Hey mum, um, how was the work trip?" I asked nervously.

"It was great, your father is still over in Germany but I was lucky enough to come back a few days earlier to see my baby!" my mother cooed, pulling me into a suffocating hug.

"Okay, can you let go of me please?" I struggled, spotting Santiago's judgemental expression out of the corner of my eye.

She gasped excitedly. "Eli, I didn't realise you had a friend over!"

Santiago waved like an absolute dork, only to be kicked in the arm by me. Of course it didn't hurt him, but he groaned in pain just for effect.

"Yeah, mum this is Sa…," I paused, "…m."

"Sam? Well, it's lovely to meet you, Sam. Can I get you anything? Will you be staying for dinner? We'll be eating in fifteen or so minutes, its pizza night."

"Oh, I don't think-"

"That would be lovely, Mrs. Arrowood. However, due to a current medical condition, I will not be able to eat with you, but I will gladly join you," he smiled politely. _Geez, where was Mr. Nice Guy earlier?_

"I'm very sorry to hear about your medical condition Sam, but you are welcome to stay during dinner nonetheless," my mother answered happily before turning to me, "I also expect you to do the laundry once your boyfriend has left."

"Mum, he's not my-"

I didn't even have a chance to finish my sentence before she left the room, closing the door behind her and skipping back down the stairs while humming goodness knows what song. Instantly, I turned to glare at Santiago.

"What the hell? Dinner? You're really inviting yourself for dinner?" I hissed.

"Chill dude, it was your mother who offered, and it's rude to turn down such a kind offer like that," he chuckled innocently.

"But she thinks we're dating!"

"So? It's fine, just tell her that we're simply friends," he added.

I flopped backwards onto my bed and sighed. "Why are you doing this? Actually, why _are_ you doing this?"

"To be honest, I'm just in it for the embarrassing stories really. You should see the way you blush when you're embarrassed, it's hilarious!" he laughed.

"Hmm, I'm sure," I growled.

"So, Sam," my mother began once we were settled at the table, "how long have you and Eli been together for?"

"We're not dating!" we both accidentally yelled together.

"Ah, just friends. How did you two meet then?"

"Well, Eli here is actually in my Chinese class," he responded.

I just wanted to leave the table in that exact moment. Why was he doing this to me? If anything, I was hoping to simply spend the evening watching a movie and eating pizza by myself, but no, instead I was listening to Santiago create this alter-ego in which he is an ill classmate of mine.

"That reminds me, how was your Chinese grade?" my mother asked.

"I passed," I murmured, grouchily picking at my pizza.

"Well, that's brilliant, I'm so proud of you!" she squealed, squeezing me into another painful hug before switching to Santiago, "what about you, Sam? If you don't mind me asking."

"Not at all, I in fact passed as well," he answered.

"Wow, I guess we have two Chinese speakers in this house! This calls for a celebration!" she jumped up and bustled over to the wine cupboard, bringing back a bottle of rosé wine and three glasses, "Sam, do you drink?"

"I'm afraid not, thank you for the offer," he replied politely.

She poured me a glass, and I growled before taking a massive gulp. In my defence, the only way I was going to make it through the dinner would be if I was drunk.

"Has Eli shown you her baby photo album yet?" she asked, leaning back and picking up the album.

"MUM!"

**Author's note: Ugh, the kings are gone, but instead you get some quality Santiago content, so you're welcome. Sorry if this whole chapter was kinda uneventful, but things will hopefully pick back up soon-ish.  
ALSO NEW COVER ALERT! I just thought that my story deserved to have a slightly better cover so I went with my instincts and made one, yay! Sorry if it's crap, I tried haha.  
Anyways, thank you so much for reading, be sure to leave some feedback because reading your comments makes my day honestly, stay safe, and ily!**


	22. Chapter 22

"I'm so excited I'm so excited I'm so excited I'm-"

"We heard the first time," Jane cut off.

I was on one of the kings' private planes to Forks with Jane, Felix and Santiago. While Jane had taken to complaining about my never-ending excitement, Felix and Santiago had spent the first hour of the journey playing Uno together before beginning a game of Hungry Hippos, that game with the coloured plastic hippo things. Sure, the entire set up was completely shattered by round two, but it was admittedly a lot of fun to witness.

I hadn't seen the Cullens in over two months now, and the kings in almost a month. On the plus side, I was officially out of school, meaning that I could finally get on with my summer. It turned out that I did get accepted into the University of Pisa, which ended up giving me a perfectly valid excuse for moving into Volterra. I mean, worst case scenario I could always drop out.

"Guess what I found!"

"Hells yeah dude!"

Felix dashed at full speed from the back of the plane carrying the box for the game Twister. There were few things that made that guy happy, playing childish games being one of them. Santiago grinned and high-fived him as they sat on the floor together with their legs crossed like a bunch of five year olds.

"Jane, you going to join?" Santiago turned his head to her.

"I have no reason to join your childish games. Besides, I'm wearing a new dress which I bought while in London, and there is no way you can get me to rip it," she scoffed.

In her defence, she was wearing a really gorgeous outfit. The dress was long-sleeved and went down to just above her knees. It was made out of an expensive-looking black velvet fabric with a white leather belt around the waist, which she wore with a pair of black lace-up biker boots. Meanwhile, I was literally just lounging around in an old t-shirt which I'd tied up with a hair band and a pair of fabric shorts. I even brought flip-flops and tied my hair into a bun which oddly resembled Spongebob's house.

"Eli, are you joining?"

I was about to say yes before reminding myself how weird it would be if I played twister with two elderly male vampires.

"I think I'll pass, you two have fun," I responded.

"Your loss dude," he rolled his eyes, the two of them instantly beginning the game.

"Jane, can I ask you something?" I timidly questioned.

"If you must," she shrugged, moving seats to the empty one adjacent to me.

"Just out of curiosity, and I've been wondering this for a while, but what were the kings' wives like?" I asked carefully, staring awkwardly into my lap in case it was a touchy subject.

"Can't say I was a fan of them!" Felix called, leant uncomfortably over the Twister mat.

"She asked me, Felix," Jane snapped before turning back around to me, "the previous queens of the Volturi were… not exactly the kindest vampires."

"Really?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Don't get me wrong, they were not evil per se, but they were not nearly as thoughtful and considerate as you. We guard members were not viewed as equals, but rather inferior to them, and there were rarely any friendly interactions between us. That is what makes you so different to them, Eliana; you have such a genuine heart, and you care about us guard members much more than they did," she explained.

My face went bright red. Me? Genuine heart? They were going to need to widen the doorways for my now inflated ego.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but I didn't even realise I was being _particularly_ caring to you lot. I was just trying to be friendly," I laughed.

"Well, it's true. The Masters did love them and care about them a lot, however they were kept locked in the tower for their own safety for many hundred years," she added.

"You're joking?" I asked deadpan, my eyes widened in shock.

"Don't worry about it though, I reckon the Masters would have a tough time trying to lock you away. In anyway, even if they did, we guard would personally break you out," she bowed dramatically with a half-hearted smile, "Corin, as you may already be aware, has the ability to make others feel contented with their situation, so she spent her time using her gift on the queens. But anyway, put it by this way; I have not seen the Masters this genuinely happy in a long time."

"What do you mean?"

"The love between the Masters and their queens died out after two or so thousand years, due to the fact that they were not true mates-"

"They were in it for the money and the sex!" Santiago called from underneath Felix. Of course, knowing my immaturity, this caused me to burst out laughing.

"I don't remember inviting you into this discussion, Santiago," Jane scoffed, "but yes, what he said."

"Huh, but how much less happy were they before then?"

"Well, Marcus barely spoke a word before you came along, Aro's smiles have been becoming less forced, and Caius has…he won't like it if I say this…softened up a little."

That was crazy; I could never imagine Marcus being quiet. This was the guy who teased me for literally everything, tossed me across my bedroom, and threatened to use my fear of insects against me. Caius' anger, on the other hand, didn't surprise me as much.

"So…where are the ex. Queens now?" I asked.

"We do not know. I have heard rumours that they have joined a coven in Thailand, but their whereabouts are unknown to anyone. When you came along, the two of them were slightly bitter, and so no longer keep in contact with the Volturi at all-"

"Hold up, you said two of them. But there are three kings…?"

There was an awkward silence in the plane, which was interrupted by Felix yelping out when Santiago bent his arm backwards, followed by him yelling "I WIN SUCKER" at the top of his lungs.

"That…is not our story to tell," she answered hesitantly, "you will find out soon enough."

"Eli, want to play another round of Twister with us?" Felix called.

"Maybe not, I mean, it's just a little dangerous for a human to play a game like Twister with a vampire," I responded.

"You're no fun," he grumbled, continuing the game with Santiago.

One hour down, seven hours to go. This plane ride was going to be painful, especially with two man-children on board.

* * *

I was finally off the plane and in the all-too-familiar Forks airport arrivals lounge. Exactly as before, Felix, Santiago, and Jane all disappeared from view pretty much as soon as we came into public, leaving me standing there timidly with my massive black suitcase. In my defence, I was planning on being away from home for quite a while to say the least, hence the luggage.

"Eli, over here!"

I spun messily to meet Emmett and Rose who were both stood as close to the exit as possible while still being in view. I excitedly skipped over to them, handing Emmett my suitcase. Reluctantly, Rose gave me a stiff hug, clearly having better places to be. Emmett, however, picked me up and spun me around twice before placing me back down onto the ground.

"Haven't seen you in ages, Mistress Volturi," he laughed.

"It's nice to have you back," Rose smiled awkwardly.

"It's nice to be back, honestly," I responded enthusiastically, leading us out of the terminal and over to the car, "but don't Edward and Bella usually pick me up?"

Rose rolled her eyes. "We can leave you here if you want," she snarked.

"Geez, calm down, you didn't give me a chance to add 'no offence'," I raised my arms, facing my palms outwards.

"Yeah, Bella still feels kinda bad for her reaction to you banging the Volturi-"

Rose whacked him across the back of the head. "Emmett!"

"Ew, what the hell is wrong with you Emmett? No one asked!" I cringed, climbing into the backseat of the car as he grinned while placing my suitcase in the boot.

"Excited for the graduation?" I joked to Rose who was now sat in the passenger seat on her phone.

"Just as excited as I always am," she answered dismissively.

"And how excited is that?"

"Not very," she replied, turning on the radio while Emmett clumsily climbed into the car and sped off.

"Alice has been planning like crazy for this graduation party, hopefully it won't be as bad as the last party we had," Emmett remarked.

"What happened at the last party?" I asked.

"Basically, one thing led to another, and Jasper accidentally attacked Bella," he explained vaguely.

"Oh, wow, fun, can't wait," I said sarcastically.

"Everything should be fine, there'll be loads more people at this one so there won't be any issues," he assured.

"If you say so," I inhaled sharply, watching the scenery of Forks zoom past the window in a blur. I happily daydreamed for a while, the only sound in the car being the faint noise coming from the radio.

"I LOVE THIS SONG!" Emmett yelled randomly, causing me to scream in fright.

He turned up the volume on the radio, and slowly I realised the song was 'Party Rock Anthem'. Of course, what else did I expect? Rose tried to reach over and turn it down but in response, he pushed her hand away and opened the windows so now the general public could enjoy one of the cringiest songs in existence.

"_Party rock is in the house tonight!_" he sung at the top of his lungs.

I'd never seen Rose look like she wanted to die that much before. She was almost shaking in anger and general loss of patience. However, I was too excited and had way too much energy to mope around with her.

"_Everybody just have a good time!_" I chimed in.

"Yes Eli!"

"Lord Jesus please help me," Rose murmured into her palm.

"Join in Rose, you know you want to," I called over the deafening music.

"I think I know what I want, thanks," she snapped, again attempting to turn down the volume and failing.

"_And we gon' make you lose your mind!_"

"_Everybody just have a good time!_" I continued with my arms extended above my head.

We finally pulled in to the Cullens' driveway and climbed out of the car, Emmett instantly handing me my suitcase. Rose looked seemed so glad to finally escape as she practically ran indoors and out of the sunlight, closely followed by Emmett and then me. While struggling up the front few steps with my luggage on my own, I almost fell flat on my face.

"Uh, help?"

Alice sped out of the front door and took my suitcase from me, holding it above her head to prove a point.

"It's not that heavy, don't be dramatic," she called over her shoulder as she led me back indoors and upstairs to the kitchen.

The aroma of fresh food filled the house, making my mouth water. God, I was hungry. Walking into the kitchen, Esme was cooking something which smelt maybe Mexican, flashing me a warm smile when she spotted me.

"Eli, it's lovely to have you back," she greeted happily.

"Thank you," I grinned, "smells amazing by the way."

"I thought I would cook you some vegan enchiladas, considering you haven't eaten all day," she answered, bustling over to the cupboard and pulling out some other spices.

"Thank you so much," I smiled sheepishly.

"Eli, can I talk to you for a minute?"

I turned around to face Bella who was stood by the stairs in front of Edward. She awkwardly held her hands in the pockets of her jeans while staring at the ground, fidgeting on the spot.

"Yeah, I guess," I replied reluctantly, "thank you again," I called to Esme as I left the kitchen.

Following Bella, we headed up the stairs and took a left into the guest bedroom I'd usually stay in whenever I visited. Edward comfortingly patted Bella on the shoulder before disappearing off into his room without a word, closing the door behind him.

"I just," she began, stumbling on her words, "I wanted to apologise, for everything."

"Go on," I smirked as I sat back on the bed with my arms crossed over my chest.

"I guess I was really out of line with everything I said-"

"Hells yeah you were!" I interrupted.

"Eli, are you going to let me apologise or what?" she asked exasperatedly.

"Of course, you're right, do continue," I bit my lip to stop myself from laughing.

"I shouldn't have said any of the things I did. What matters is you're happy, that's all I care about. Not only was I kinda acting like a total asshole, but I was also selfish. I mean, if they are your true mates and you honestly do love them, that's all that should matter," she shrugged, "I guess I'm trying to say I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted," I smiled, pulling her in for a quick hug, "anyway, if anything I shouldn't have sprung news like that onto you so suddenly."

"No, no way, I'm so happy for you, really. It's just…seriously though?"

"What?" I laughed.

"I mean, do you seriously find them attractive?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Well, yeah, what did you think?"

"It's just such a weird thought, I mean…wow," she chuckled, "so have you had your first kiss, or I guess kisses, yet?"

"I have actually," I squealed.

"Oh my God, when?"

"During the week I spent in Italy before I told you," I muttered quietly.

"No way! Wow, that's crazy, I mean, good on you, looks like you're gonna be a Volturi now."

"Bella, look at me," I fixed my gaze on hers, "I know, I get it, it's really weird that I'm in a relationship with the Volturi. Hell, I can't even begin to imagine how shocked Carlisle must feel considering he spent years living with them. But, I'll always be the same, and I will always consider you as my best friend, as corny as that sounds," I assured lightly.

"Yeah, you tend to have a kinda cringey way with words," she teased, causing me to launch a pillow at her.

"Ooh wait, before I forget," I leapt over to the suitcase which Alice had brought to the room, unzipping it and pulling out a bag of chocolate, "I brought you some British chocolate!"

"You know me so well," she laughed and opened the bag without hesitation.

"Ready to graduate?" I asked, lying back beside her.

"Can't wait, you coming to Alice's party then?"

"What choice do I have? If you decide not to come though, I'm not going," I warned her.

"Don't worry, she won't let me skip it. I'll talk to Charlie to see if he'll let me sleep over that night."

"Please do, we need a proper catch-up," I giggled, taking a chocolate out of the bag.

**Author's note: Okay, I know there was a major time skip between the last chapter and this one, but if I didn't add one, the story was going to get boring quickly. On another note, Party Rock Anthem has been stuck in my head for a week now, so I thought I'd spread the love and get it stuck in your heads too (you're welcome).  
Thanks again for reading, be sure to leave some feedback, I'm so pleased to hear people are enjoying reading my story and find it funny so thank you so so so so it means a lot, stay safe, and ily!**


	23. Chapter 23

That week I spent in Forks went by much faster than I expected. Although I was stuck at the Cullens' house while they went for their final week of school, it did actually give me a lot of time to perfect my Mario Kart game, so now I was basically unbeatable.

Alice had taken me shopping on Tuesday evening to buy a dress for the graduation party I was being forced to attend. After many painful hours of rummaging through clothing racks and getting sidetracked by shoes, we eventually settled on light blue short-sleeved dress that ended mid-thigh with a v-neck. I wasn't exactly a dress kind of person, so it took a lot to get me to agree to anything in fairness, but Alice had tried to talk me into many…revealing items, including a baby pink vinyl spaghetti-strap mini-dress with panels cut out along the sides.

"Alice, what the fuck is this?" I hissed almost silently.

She pulled back the dressing room curtain and looked me up and down with a shrug. "What's the issue?"

"The _issue_ is the fact that there is way too much skin showing. Look," I gestured to my side, "my ass is going to pop out at any second!"

"But it looks so good on you though," she insisted.

"Alice, come on," I turned around to the other side, "how am I even supposed to wear underwear with this?"

"We can work around it."

"Ugh, Lord give me strength," I muttered and shook my head, pulling the dressing room curtain closed again.

On the plus side, I did manage to talk her into allowing me to wear trainers with my dress, as she'd chosen out a really nice pair of white Nike shoes for me. As much as I did appreciate Alice's love affair with clothing, my patience had limits with that child.

Before I knew it, the day of the graduation had finally arrived. I was fast asleep in the spare bedroom after staying up for way too long playing Mario Kart with Jasper, when the room suddenly lit up brightly.

"Why?" I groaned into my pillow.

"Eli, its graduation day!" Alice's voice squealed, "I've got to go and take this," she gestured to a large white box, "to Bella. Go and get ready, I can't wait to see the dress on you!"

"Fine, fine, I'm getting up," I waited until she left before finishing my sentence, "in twenty minutes."

Twenty minutes later, I finally rolled out of bed and pulled the dress out of the pile of clothing we'd bought the other day. Quickly cutting off the tag, I tiredly stumbled into the bathroom and locked the door in case anyone was to barge in without knocking. Fortunately for me, the dress was quite modest so I wasn't really worried about wearing it during the graduation while, if it was the mini-dress, that would be a whole different story.

After quickly French braiding my hair down my back, I put on the new trainers Alice had bought for me and headed down the stairs, greeted by Esme who handed me a plate of freshly-cooked pancakes.

"For you," she smiled.

"Thank you Esme," I responded and settled down at the table.

Rose and Emmett had managed to talk their way out of coming to the graduation, and were currently out of the house doing god knows what. Edward was on his way out past me when he stopped and glanced at my dress.

"Nice dress. Did Alice get to you?" he asked humorously.

"Unfortunately," I giggled, bringing my plate back into the kitchen and placing it in the dishwasher.

"I heard that," Alice spoke while she tugged my hand to get a better look at the outfit she'd chosen, "you should wear blue more often, it really matches your skin tone."

"You think?"

"Yes, it's just a shame your mates aren't here to see you in this," she winked.

I shook my head, giving her an unimpressed look. Carlisle's voice suddenly called from by the door downstairs.

"Photos, we're taking photos right now!"

I stood back with my arms crossed over my chest, a look of bemusement on my face as I watched Alice, Jasper, and Edward forced into a group photo. Despite still looking as gorgeous as ever, their gowns were so tragically hideous and their smiles were so forced that it was honestly just a stroke of comedic gold. I even considered pulling my phone out of my pocket to take a few photos myself to tease them later. As soon as Esme and Carlisle let them go, Edward dashed out of the door, calling behind him.

"I'm off to see Bella, I'll see you later."

The remaining five of us headed down into the garage and climbed into the car, Carlisle in the driver's seat with Esme beside him. I was squished against the left door with Alice in the middle, Jasper seated next to her. Esme had her camera held proudly in her lap, clearly eager to take as many photos as possible. This was going to get interesting…

* * *

I timidly followed behind Carlisle and Esme like a shadow as they led us to a few empty seats near the front. On the way over, a voice called my name.

"Eli?"

I turned around and my gaze met Charlie. "Charlie, how are you?" I asked politely.

"I'm great thank you, lovely to see you again, it's very kind of you to come down and support Bella and her friends. She does miss spending time with you," he smiled just as I was pulled into a quick hug from Bella.

"Thank you for coming," she spoke.

"No problem, slay this graduation girl!" I responded with a giggle as I pulled away from her and followed Carlisle and Esme into our seats.

I barely paid any attention during the ceremony, mostly because I didn't really know anyone there. A few of them I did recognise as some of Bella's friends, one of them even doing the whole 'inspirational' speech. The whole thing went by pretty slowly, mostly because I was boredly daydreaming instead of concentrating. Once the whole thing was over, I made my way back over to Bella and hugged her briefly.

"So proud," I dramatically wiped away an invisible tear from my eye.

"Shut up, I saw you falling asleep," she laughed.

"I would never, I was just…thinking deeply about how much of a meaningful turning point this is in your life," I answered sarcastically, "your gown looks awful by the way."

"They all do," she rolled her eyes just as Edward came over.

"Jasper and Alice are both preparing for her 'party'," he explained, drawing speech marks in the air, "how was your sleep?"

"For the last time, I wasn't sleeping!" I yelled a little too loudly with my arms crossed, earning glares from across the room.

"If you say so," he joked.

"We're heading back now, are you coming?" Carlisle asked from behind me.

"Yeah, sure, nowhere else to be," I replied, following after them away from Bella and Edward, "see you later alligator!" I called embarrassingly.

Once we got back to the Cullen household, I immediately ran upstairs and began touching up my makeup. Maybe it was because I was dozing off with my head rested in my hand, but everything was now a little on the untidy side. Adding an extra layer of lip gloss, I headed back down the stairs just as people gradually began filing into the house. Alice was bustling around as per usual, making sure everything was just right.

"Hey, Alice?"

"Eli, what's up?" she asked, raising her voice over the music and the large number of people who were now gathering in the front room.

"I was just wondering if you've seen Bella around, considering I literally know nobody here."

She pointed over behind my shoulder before turning her back to me and continuing her crazy party organising. I spun around and spotted Bella, who had decided not to wear a dress apparently, but instead a shirt and jeans.

"No dress then?" I questioned.

"As if," she waved her hand just as two other girls came up to her.

"You made it!" the one with glasses hugged Bella tightly.

"Do I know you?" the other girl asked me.

"Um, no, my name is Eli. I'm just here visiting," I smiled, trying to seem as friendly as possible to offset my resting bitch face.

"Oh my God, you're Bella's British friend! I thought you were made up for a while," she responded, "I'm Jessica."

"And I'm Angela, I love your accent," she added.

"Thanks," I smiled sheepishly as they turned their attention back to Bella.

"What did you think of my speech? Too easy-breezy, too self-helpful, you hated it?" Jessica asked too quickly for anyone to process the question.

Bella paused for a moment. "No, I think you pretty much nailed it," she assured.

"Yeah? It's like I was born to lead, right?"

Angela gasped beside her. "I love this song, let's go," she tugged Jessica away into the crowd, leaving me and Bella standing there awkwardly.

"So are you staying over then?" I asked Bella.

"Charlie said I could since you're here and we don't get to see each other much," she replied, her face lighting up slightly.

"This is gonna be so much fun!" I squealed and bounced on the spot.

Bella's attention instantly turned to the stairs as a small group of boys wandered in. The three of them had dark brown hair and wore weirdly similar dark-coloured t-shirts. I noticed that Bella seemed almost bewildered, but I just assumed it was simply because they were kinda hot compared to most of the boys I'd seen around so far.

"What're you doing here?" she inclined her head.

"You invited me, remember?" he answered with a slightly bitter edge before turning around to me, "and who's this then?"

"Eli, actually, you?" I asked him, a little pissed off at his attitude.

"Jacob," he responded dismissively.

"Was my right hook too subtle for you?" Bella snarked, "That was me uninviting you."

Wow, things did really get interesting all of a sudden. Bella really punched that dude? I noted to bring that topic up in our catch-up later.

"Look, Bella, I'm sorry, about, you know, the kiss," _the kiss?!_ "and your hand. I'd blame it on the whole 'inner-animal' thing but it was just…me being an ass, I'm really sorry."

Huh, as much as this Jacob dude had already pissed me off and we'd only just met, that was a sweet apology to his credit.

"But I brought you something," he fumbled in his pocket, "a graduation present. I made it myself."

He handed her a little bracelet with a wolf charm on it. Hold up, everything now made sense; were these the shape-shifters I'd heard about? Oh, that would explain his little 'inner-animal' analogy.

"Wow, you made this?"

I sensed that I was probably getting a little nosy and interrupting the whole sentimental moment at this point, and instead decided to scurry off into the crowd.

"I'm just gonna, hmm, go refill my drink," I excused myself before noticing that I wasn't even holding a cup.

The group raised an eyebrow at me as I hurried off and looked for literally anyone I recognised. Someone tugged at my arm, causing me to spin around and face Jessica.

"Eli, was it?" she smiled.

"Yeah, hi Jessica," I gave her a brief dorky wave.

"Come," she led me over to a group of people near the corner, "you've already met Angela, this is Eric, and this is Mike," she explained, gesturing to each of them in turn.

I reckoned that the only reason I was getting this kind of attention was because of my accent, but honestly I wasn't complaining.

"Nice to meet you," I waved awkwardly.

"So you're British, huh?" Mike asked.

"No, I'm Antarctican," I answered, my tone dripping with sarcasm. _Nice one Eli, way to make a first impression._

"You a polar bear or something?" he countered.

"Um, polar bears live in the Arctic, mate," I laughed.

"Do British people always call people 'mate'?" Angela asked light-heartedly.

"No, sometimes I guess," I shrugged, "do Americans always get the north and south poles the wrong way around?" I questioned with a giggle.

"No, just Mike," Eric responded.

"Your dress looks really nice by the way," Jessica complemented me.

"Aw thank you, so does yours," I blushed. I could sense that Jessica was clearly one of those annoying 'popular girls' or whatever, but I didn't care to be honest; I was going to take every compliment I could gather.

"How long are you in town for? Because, you know, if you're free, we could, like, meet up and grab food or something…" Mike trailed off.

"Thanks for the offer, but I'm actually leaving tomorrow," I lied. I really had three days to go, but I wasn't in the mood to meet up with a bunch of people like we're best buds, or go on a date with someone who doesn't even know basic geography.

"Wait, how long were you here for? Did you not come to school?" he asked.

"Um, no, my school's already finished so I didn't need to," I raised an eyebrow.

"So Eli," Jessica butted in to our conversation, "what did you think of my speech?"

Shit, I wasn't even listening to it. I think at that moment I was busy staring out of the window at a woodpecker I'd spotted in a tree, so I literally had no idea what her speech was even about.

"Oh, I loved it. You are…really good at making speeches, very inspirational," I answered hesitantly.

"Really? You think? Wow, thanks," she grinned.

"Eli," Bella grabbed my arm and spun me around, "I thought you were refilling your drink."

"Oh yeah, I got sidetracked," I giggled and turned my head back to the group, "catch up later!"

"So, that was Jacob then?" I questioned her once we were some distance away from the crowd of people, admiring the graduation gift he'd gotten her.

She sighed, "Yeah, didn't think he would come to be honest. Sorry if he made it awkward."

"Eh, don't worry about it. I'm more interested in you…punching him?"

"Oh, that," she giggled to lift the suspense, "he kind of, um, forcibly kissed me."

"No way, so you punched him?" I widened my eyes in surprise.

"What else was I supposed to do? Anyway, Edward threatened to break his jaw, I broke my hand, but it's fine, we're on way better terms now," she explained.

"Huh, never thought you had it in you, _Isabella_," I teased her.

"You've been spending too much time with Aro, you weirdo," she playfully slapped my arm.

"Why? Does he call you Isabella?" I laughed.

"He did once, just before he almost sucked my blood," she responded awkwardly.

"Yikes, allow me to apologise on his behalf," I dramatically bowed.

"Oh, I even get a bow as well."

"See? I'm like Aro 2.0," I giggled, "hold up, I've just realised something."

"What?"

"Aro can read my thoughts and all that crap, right? So he's currently watching our entire conversation, just a few days later," I gasped, "_hey future Aro, how's life?_"

"Thanks for reminding me," Bella muttered disappointedly.

"Oh come on, don't be like that, it's fun. _Also Aro, Bella doesn't like to be called Isabella, just for future reference, thanks babe_," I called out to nobody.

"You call him babe?" she raised an eyebrow at me.

"Well…yeah, all three of them," I shrugged.

"Wow, look at you falling in love."

"I know right? Like some kind of crazy romance film where the teenage girl falls in love with three ancient artefacts, but to be fair, your relationship would be such good romance material."

"You think?"

"Yeah, human girl falls in love with handsome vampire and joins his lil' vampire family," I joked.

"Hm, pitch it to Summit Entertainment at some point."

I burst out laughing, struggling to breathe. "I'll add it to my bucket list!"

**Author's note: This chapter was a lot of fun to write, I'm not gonna lie. Throughout this story, I'm trying to follow the whole Twilight arc as closely as possible, but if I get any minor plot details wrong, I apologise. Again, thank you so much for reading, this story is really picking up now and doing well so thank you thank you thank you! Be sure to leave some feedback, stay safe, and ily!**


	24. Chapter 24

My eyes fluttered open slowly, weighed down by my heavy eyelids. It took me a few seconds to actually register what the hell was happening or where the hell I was, until I remembered that it was the day after the graduation party and Bella had stayed for a sleepover. We'd stayed up until maybe four in the morning just chatting and acting like utter retards. Huh, fun times.

I went to get up but felt something preventing me from moving. Looking down, I noticed that Bella was sprawled across me, absolutely fast asleep. She muttered something about plants before rolling over so that she was blocking my way up even more. As carefully as possible, I manoeuvred myself out from underneath her and climbed out of bed, checking myself in the mirror. The night before, I'd changed into an oversized hoodie and shorts, and I honestly looked like a walking bin bag.

Once I'd pulled my hood over my head, I stumbled deliriously out of the room and down the stairs into the kitchen. For some reason something felt off, but I couldn't be asked to find out what. A yawn escaped my lips while I reached for the fridge but, just before my hand made contact with the handle, a pair of arms suddenly encircled my waist from behind.

"HOLY FUCKING SHIT!"

I tried to wriggle out of their grip, my heart racing out of my chest. _I don't want to be kidnapped, not now, I'm too young to die-_

"_Carissima_, breathe, it is just me."

I spun around on my heel so that my gaze met Caius, who gave me an amused expression. As soon as my slowly-functioning brain realised that I wasn't going to die, I wrapped my arms around him tightly.

"Don't scare me like that," I murmured into him.

"What is happening?! Stay away from-"

The entire Cullen clan were now gathered behind us, as clearly my screaming frenzy had caught their attention. I cut Edward off mid-sentence, pulling away from Caius' embrace.

"Edward, chill, its fine-" I outstretched an arm to hold him back just before my own sentence was cut off by Caius, who was now trying to snap back at Edward.

"You do not tell me what to do, you pathetic-"

"Caius, chill babe," I placed a reassuring hand on his chest, attempting to push him back, but for obvious reasons he didn't budge.

At that perfect timing, Bella's light footsteps carefully sounded down the stairs and into the room. She let out a peaceful yawn, staring at the ground as she wandered in while looking more relaxed than ever. I wondered how long it would take her to notice what was happening around her.

"Can you keep it down? I was trying to sleep…" she trailed off as she lifted her head so that her gaze met the kings.

All of a sudden, she leapt over to Edward with a yelp, clinging onto his side for dear life. In her defence, it's not every day you wake up and wander downstairs to be met by three powerful emo vampires who have previously attempted to kill you.

"You again, you shameful-"

"Caius, come on, please don't do this now," I hugged him again in a weak attempt to calm him down.

"It is wonderful to see you again, Isabella," Aro's voice chimed in joyously from behind Caius.

I stepped around Caius and handed Aro my hand to read all of my recent thoughts and memories. After a few seconds, he pulled away with a light chuckle, still holding my hand tightly.

"Of course, young Bella," he bowed his head lightly, giving me a knowing look.

There was an awkward silence between everyone in the room, most of them staring at me in shock of my close proximity to the kings more than anything. Finally, Carlisle broke the silence.

"It is lovely to finally see you again, Aro. If there is no issue here, let us give everyone some space,"

He clapped his hands together, gesturing everyone to get back to what they were doing before heading back to his office himself. Now that everyone was gone, it gave me a chance to actually have a proper, uninterrupted reunion. I threw myself into Aro's arms as he held me to him, glad to finally be in his embrace again. He pressed a light kiss to my forehead before I moved on to Marcus, wrapping my arms around him as tightly as possible while his chin was rested on the top of my head. After pulling away, he pulled the hood from my hoodie down from my head, tucking a stray hair behind my ear.

"We have missed you terribly, _tesoro_," he spoke.

"I've missed you too," I responded while Caius draped his arms over my shoulders from behind me comfortably with his cold nose buried in my neck, breathing in my scent, "I didn't realise you were going to come this early."

"Neither did we, _cara mia_, but our schedule was relatively empty for the next few days so it seemed like a brilliant idea to surprise you," Aro informed me happily.

"Are we leaving today?"

"That is the plan, unless you are particularly set on staying in Forks for a few more days."

"No, I'm good, I've been excited for weeks," I squealed with a massive grin on my face.

"We'd best allow you to ready yourself for the day and pack your belongings," Caius added, letting go of my shoulders but still stood directly behind me.

"I'll be back in a bit!" I called, hurrying away up the stairs and back into the spare room.

Bella seemed startled as I walked in, jumping slightly while sat on the edge of the bed with her phone. I went over to my suitcase and pulled out a pair of denim shorts and a white t-shirt.

"You okay, Bella?" I spun to face her.

"Yeah, good, great in fact," she sounded unconvinced herself.

"I'm sorry if my lot scared you, they have a tendency to do the same to me," I laughed to try and lighten the mood.

"It's fine, why was Caius angry at me?"

"Hmm?" I stopped just before reaching the bathroom.

"He just, he called me a shameful something, I don't know, you cut off his sentence," she stared in her lap.

"Oh, that was just about the argument we had a while ago, I still need to tell him that we're good now."

"You told them about it?"

"Relax, they were going to find out soon enough, what with Aro's ability. And besides, due to us being so close, they'd never lay a finger on you…probably," I shrugged with a grin, locking the door to the bathroom behind me.

I got ready as fast as possible, managing to dress in thirty seconds flat and brush my teeth in a minute. After quickly adjusting my hair a little, I unlocked the door and started packing up my things into my suitcase neatly.

"I'm probably just over thinking this, but about what you said earlier, about the Volturi probably never laying a finger on me, you were joking, right?" Bella asked, sounding genuinely worried, bless her.

"Bells, I will never never ever let them hurt you or any of the Cullens, okay? Not for as long as I'm alive," I reassured her, pulling her in for a quick hug, "now, can you please sit on my suitcase? I'm leaving pretty much now and I need to zip it up."

"How much stuff do you have in there?"

"Well, it barely closed before, and now there's all the clothes Alice bought me as well, so I really don't know how I'm going to remotely shut this thing."

With a roll of her eyes, Bella sat on the suitcase with her legs crossed, watching as I grimaced while pulling the zipper around. After a few minutes of painful tugging, it was finally sealed and closed.

"Done," I panted, marvelling my handiwork.

"Now how are you going to get it down the stairs?" she asked quite rightly.

"I'll help!"

Alice burst into the room, holding the suitcase smugly above her head and skipping back down the stairs to the front room with me in tow. All traces of the party from the night before were gone, except from the speaker and light systems which were still set up in the corner. Jasper, Emmett, and, funnily enough, Rose were sat on the sofa playing Mario Kart, looks of utter focus on their faces. The kings were stood behind them, Aro and Marcus watching on in amusement while Caius scowled at the TV. Without warning, Alice dropped my suitcase down with a loud bang, causing everyone to spin around.

"Alice, I was so close to winning!" Emmett whined.

"You weren't, you really weren't," Rose snarked as her kart crossed the finish line in first place, closely followed by Jasper who came in second.

"Are you ready to leave, _carissima_?" Caius asked, desperate to get out of the door.

"Yeah, let's go," I replied, attempting to wheel my suitcase out but failing, "why is this so heavy?" I wheezed.

Marcus materialised beside me and held it in one hand with ease, casually strolling to the front door followed by Aro and Caius.

"Show off," I muttered behind him.

Just before we reached the door, Emmett appeared in front of me with an excited grin on his face, the rest of the Cullens gathered behind. Bit harsh, was he really _that_ happy that I was leaving?

"Eli, I have a really fun game real quick," he held up three pens.

"Emmett, don't you dare," Carlisle scolded.

"But it's funny." he insisted.

"Will I find it funny?"

"No comment. Look, just put your right hand on the table," he gestured to a side table in the middle of the room.

I reluctantly followed his instructions, half-expecting something to leap out at me. The kings stood protectively behind me along with Demetri, apparently just as clueless as I was. Once my hand was facing down on the table, he placed the pens between my fingers, holding the ends of them in his fist.

"Okay, what now?" I asked sceptically.

"What sound does a cat make?"

"Sorry?" I raised my eyebrows.

"Just answer, what sound does a cat make?"

"Um, meow," I answered pathetically.

"What sound does a dog make?"

"Woof."

"What sound does a cow make?"

"You're kidding? Moo." I sighed.

"What sound does a pig make?"

"Oink," I cringed at myself.

"What sound do you make during sex?"

At that exact moment, he tightened his grip on the pens, causing a sharp pain to suddenly run through my hand.

"AH, FUCK!" I screamed, retracting my hand away and shaking it quickly to reduce the pain.

Everyone stood there with their jaws dropped in shock, everyone except Emmett whose laughter was the only sound filling the room, clutching onto his sides to contain himself.

"Sorry," I blushed, staring down at the ground.

"Emmett, apologise to Eli, now," Esme spoke calmly.

"I'm…sorry?" he shrugged.

In response to his weak apology, I picked up the pens and hurled all three of them at him. Obviously, he caught them with ease, but I was livid either way.

"That was NOT funny," I snapped as we narrowed our eyes at each other.

"Let us go, _bellissima_, we cannot be running late," Aro stood above me with a hand placed on my shoulder while still trying to suppress a chuckle, steering me out of the door. He was the shortest of the three of them, but nonetheless he towered above me at 5'10".

"Bye for now, thank you for having me!" I called behind me as I was ushered over to the car.

Demetri stood waiting with the car door open, allowing me to climb in and seat myself in the middle. Caius joined me on my left and Marcus sat on my right while Aro sat in the passenger seat. Due to the humid weather and the car being painted black, I felt like I was sitting in an oven waiting to be cooked alive, not to be dramatic or anything. While fanning myself with my left hand, I leant across Marcus' lap to the window and winded it down as far as it would go.

"You could have simply asked me to open the window," he remarked, running a quick hand through my hair.

"Leaning over you is way more fun," I countered as I sat back up straight, glancing over at Caius, "am I going to have to lean over you too?"

"If you insist," he smirked.

Rolling my eyes, I placed a hand on his thigh and reached over to the windowsill, winding down the window on his side as well. Once it was half way down my hand slipped, causing my head to fall into his lap. With his hand rested on my shoulder, he finished rolling down the window for me before helping me to sit back up straight.

"You are welcome," he spoke.

Demetri instantly started the engine and pulled away from the Cullens' driveway. For some reason, everyone was wearing coats and jackets in the car, Demetri even wearing a pair of black leather gloves.

"Isn't it a little too hot to be wearing jackets?" I asked.

"We are not affected by heat," Caius responded simply.

"Sure, but now you just look a little out-of-place. I mean, its 26°C in the sun."

"How much less clothing did you want us to wear?" Marcus chuckled.

I slapped him lightly across the chest. "All I'm saying is you look dressed enough to go on an expedition to Antarctica."

"What do you have against Antarctica?" he teased.

"I don't have anything against Antarctica!" I yelled exasperatedly.

"Then I do not see the issue in us wearing extra jackets, _tesoro_."

"Why do I bother?" I muttered, leaning my head back.

Suddenly, I remembered I brought my iPod and speaker out with me, and plugged in the iPod. At this point, we were driving along the motorway at full speed, the windows half-closed to stop the loud noise of the wind coming into the car.

"Eliana, what are you doing?" Caius questioned me irritatedly.

To answer his question, I turned on the one song I knew would eternally piss him off.

_All you ladies pop yo' pussy like this,  
Shake your body, don't stop, don't miss,_

This time, Caius didn't even hesitate; he snatched the speaker from my hand and crushed it in his fist before tossing it out of the window and onto the motorway. I heard it shatter into a million pieces, completely unsalvageable at this point. Everyone in the car turned to stare at him in silence with their mouths forming a perfect 'O', including Demetri who was glancing through the rear view mirror.

"CAIUS!" I angrily broke the silence.

"It is a terrible, disgusting song," he justified himself simply.

"So?! What, you just toss my speaker out of the window?!"

He looked to Aro and Marcus for help, shrugging his shoulders in desperation. He really didn't understand why I was angry at him?

"Oh-ho, don't look at them, albino bunny, they can't help you now," I seethed.

"Excuse me? What did you call me?"

I stubbornly refused to reply to him, turning around and with my back to Caius so I was facing Marcus with my arms crossed over my chest. Quickly, I noticed that both Aro and Marcus both had amused expressions on their faces, facing forwards to try to seem as serious as possible.

"It's not funny, nothing about this is funny," I growled.

"Nobody said it was," Aro responded lightly.

I attempted to keep the whole silent-treatment thing going for the duration of the car journey, but I completely snapped after only ten minutes, my rage getting the better of me.

"I'm sorry, but what came over you to throw that thing out of the window?"

"You would not turn the music off."

"You didn't ask me to turn it off!"

"Well maybe you should not have turned it on in the first place!"

"Or maybe _you_ should've been mature and tried to communicate verbally instead of destroying my stuff!"

"It was one item!"

"So?!"

"There was no 'stuff' being destroyed, it is easily replaceable!"

"It doesn't mean you can just go and break it then, does it?!"

"You are so immature!"

"Me?! I'm the immature one, Mr. Anger-Management Issues?!"

"Take that back right now!"

"No, you can't make me!"

"Will you stop arguing like CHILDREN?!" Aro bellowed, filling the car with stunned silence.

There was a pause. "She started it," Caius muttered.

"I started it? No, no, this one is on you-"

"Eliana, what did I just say?" Aro scolded lightly.

"What- but- I- UGH!" I growled, aggressively turning to face the front with a frown on my face.

"And I am the one with anger-management issues," Caius muttered under his breath in disbelief.

I slapped him on the arm as hard as I could, which obviously didn't hurt him at all whatsoever, but it still caused a loud slapping sound to fill the car.

"You are testing my patience, Eliana," Aro said calmly.

"Didn't you hear what he just said?" I glared pointedly at Caius.

"Simply ignore him, do not provide a reaction. This kind of immaturity is what I would expect from a young child, not you. Brother, this applies to you as well," Aro lectured both of us, "Now, we are about to endure a twelve-hour plane ride together, so please do be sensible and behave properly, and I do advise you against causing me to lose my temper. That is truly a decision you will regret. Is that understood?"

I nodded my head to keep the peace, but Caius was stubbornly refusing. I nudged him, causing him to join in with my reluctant nodding.

"Good. Now, unless you are willing to have a mature and sensible conversation with each other like the civilised beings you are, we _will_ spend the rest of this car journey in silence."

And that we did. Not a word was spoken for the remaining twenty minutes in the car although, unbeknownst to Aro, we continued to kick each other's legs and jab each other in the torso regardless.

**Author's note: These constant lil' arguments between Eli and Caius are so much fun to write haha. It's honestly at the point now where I have most of the rest of this story planned out, so stay tuned yay. Thank you so much for reading, be sure to leave some feedback, stay safe, and ily!**


	25. Chapter 25

The car finally pulled up just outside the Volturi's private jet after one of the most painful car rides I'd ever experienced. Caius was the first to leap out of the car, slamming the door behind him before I even had the chance to climb out of his side. Instead, Marcus held his door open for me, extending a hand to help me out. Once I was out onto the runway, I scowled at Caius, following him up the stairs with Marcus and Aro both close behind me. For some reason, Caius had stopped on the top step, having what felt like an unnecessary conversation with Santiago. I shoved into his back as hard as I possibly could, attempting to push him into the plane.

"Eliana," Aro warned behind me.

I spun around to face him, leant against Caius' back while Aro stood a few steps below me with his arms crossed over his chest. "What did I do this time?"

"Be sensible," he growled.

Suddenly Caius lurched forward, sending me flying backwards into the plane and onto my ass with a light "_oof_". Instead of helping me up, he simply laughed at me before taking his seat in the corner. Marcus kindly lifted me to my feet by my waist, steering me back into the plane and into the seat opposite Caius.

"What was that for?" I hissed at him in a whisper.

"I do not know what you are talking about," Caius shrugged, placing his hands behind his head with his elbows facing outwards.

"God, you're so annoying," I groaned.

"What did I say about being sensible?"

Aro appeared between us, a slightly annoyed look on his face.

"We were being sensible, right Caius?" I leant around Aro and with my eyebrows raised at him.

"Mhm," he responded.

With that, Aro moved past us to sit to the left of Caius, with Marcus sat on my right. Caius was just frustrating me so much in that instant, I just wanted to yeet him out of the plane so badly. Now, not only did I have absolutely no way to play my music, but he was also taking every opportunity to get back at me.

We were all sat in virtual silence during take-off, Renata and Santiago quietly playing Uno on the other side of the plane while Demetri read some book written in Greek. However, we hadn't even been in the air for five minutes before Caius discretely kicked me in the shin. Hard.

"Ouch! Do you mind?" I snapped, kicking him back.

"What did I do?" he pulled an all-too-innocent face.

"You're joking? You kicked me!"

"I did no such thing!"

"Look," I lifted my leg up, placing my foot on his lap, "you see that red mark? You see? Right there? That was from your shoe!" I argued, placing my foot back down on the floor.

"You have no evidence to back that up!"

"Oh yeah? You've been kicking me in the leg the whole way here!"

"That is because you continually jab me in the rib!"

"Well that's just because you destroyed my own belongings and blamed it on me!"

"Why are you such a child?!"

"Why are _you_ such a baby?!"

"THAT IS ENOUGH!"

Aro erupted in fury, standing up from his seat with his hands in tight fists. He stormed over to where I was sat and towered over me with his face a mere few centimetres away from mine, his arms either side of my head blocking my view.

"I have warned you time and time again to not anger me or cause me to lose my temper, but you have ignored me every single time! The way you are acting is simply unacceptable and I cannot, and will not, tolerate it..."

His crazy rant went on for a few more minutes, but I zoned out after a couple of seconds. I'd never seen him this angry before, and I'd be lying if I said it wasn't just a little off-putting. I had to think of something to calm him down, as I couldn't just leave him boiling with fury for the next twelve hours.

For some reason, my dumb brain decided the only way to calm him down was to kiss him, so once his rant was over and his face was still scowling at me, I leant up to him, pressing my lips against his. To be honest, I even confused myself, but it did seem to work, his posture already loosening up slightly.

"Sorry, I don't know-"

He cut off my embarrassing apology with his lips, kissing me much more passionately than we had ever kissed before, with one gentle hand cupping my cheek. His tongue gently traced my lips as I opened my mouth for him, allowing him to deepen the kiss further. Once I eventually pulled away for air, I blushed realising that Marcus and Caius had been sitting there, awkwardly watching the entire time. Before I'd even realised it, I was sat on Aro's lap on the seat I'd been previously sitting on as he held me to him closely.

"I apologise for losing my temper, _cara mia_," he murmured into my hair.

"Don't, it was Caius' fault in anyway," I laughed, narrowing my eyes at him sat opposite us.

My sentence was followed by an aggressive growl from both Caius and Aro aimed at me. For fear of starting up another argument blown out of proportion, I shuffled over a few centimetres from Aro's lap onto Marcus', curling up into a tight ball. He let out an amused chuckle, encircling his arms around my waist.

"And this, my brothers, is why I stay out of disagreements such as this," Marcus said to the other two, gesturing to me proudly as if getting me to sit on him was an achievement.

"_Bellissima_, you may sit with me, I promise I won't be angry at you again," Aro pleaded while seeming pretty desperate for me to resume my seat on his lap, glancing over at Marcus with jealousy in his eyes.

I sighed. "Well I'm comfortable now," I answered him with a shrug, holding a corner of Marcus' cloak and hugging it closer to me to breathe in his scent.

Caius seemed humoured at Aro's defeated expression, which prompted a series of menacing glares exchanged between them both. However, I was much too comfortable to take much notice of my surroundings, the sound of Marcus' gentle purring in my ear slowly lulling me to sleep as I cuddled into him under his cloak like a warm blanket.

-oOo-

"_Il mio amore_," Marcus' voice whispered warily so as not to startle me.

"I'm up, I'm up," I jolted upright, rubbing my eyes as a yawn escaped my lips.

He chuckled lightly. "There is something we three must discuss urgently, would you mind waiting with Renata and Santiago?"

In fairness, those two had been so quiet that I'd forgotten they were even there.

"Gladly, have fun boys."

I smiled tiredly and slid off his lap, picking up a throw blanket from one of the seats opposite to us and wrapping it around myself like a cocoon before heading to the other side of the plane. Renata and Santiago were both sat on the floor with their legs crossed, apparently in a very intense game of Uno.

"Hey dude, you up for Uno?" he asked as he shuffled over slightly and patted the floor beside him.

I settled down between him and Renata, the throw blanket pooled around my waist. "Why not, I guess."

Considering I'd only ever played Uno once or twice before, I was pretty damn surprised when I won the first three games we played. Santiago kept insisting it was just 'beginner's luck', but I was going to take the small victory in anyway. Although, once I'd won the fourth game, I did accidentally get a little overly-enthusiastic.

"HA, YOU LOSE, SUCK IT!" I yelled, jumping to my feet and pointing my index finger at them.

"I said it once and I'll say it again dude, beginner's-"

"Luck, yeah, I heard the first time," I interrupted, "but did you see that? I WON!"

"Sshhh," Renata hissed, placing a finger over her lips as she glanced pointedly over my shoulder.

"What?" I asked her loudly.

Before I even realised it, someone had thrown me over their shoulder and was carrying me back to the other side of the plane, placing me down in the seat I'd fallen asleep in before with a soft thud as a light "oof" sound escaped my lips again. Looking up, I noticed that Marcus was stood towering above me while pinning my arms above my head.

"We were trying to have an urgent, uninterrupted discussion, _tesoro_," he shook his head with a light chuckle.

"Sorry," I muttered while looking down in the direction of the floor.

He quickly kissed my nose. "What _are_ you like?" he mused to himself just as Aro scooped me up with his arms under my knees and behind my back, placing me down on his lap.

"How much longer?" I asked him.

Aro glanced at his wristwatch but was interrupted by Caius.

"Four hours approximately," he snapped.

"Thanks Caius, even though I didn't ask you actually," I responded with a grin.

"Oh, you have decided to call me Caius again, brilliant."

"What's your issue?"

"Do you not remember? In the car? When you referred to me as 'albino bunny'?"

"Oh, that, yeah."

"Is that it?"

"What else did you want?"

"I was really looking for an apology."

"For calling you 'albino bunny'?" I raised my eyebrow at him confusedly.

"Whatever else for?"

I laughed a little too loudly. "Are you honestly offended by that, Caius?"

"I am not offended, rather it is rude to provide such derogatory names for people."

"Hey, if anything you should feel honoured, babe. I don't have a nickname for Marcus or Aro yet, you're the first," I defended.

"Honoured?" he asked in disbelief.

"Well…yeah."

"Eliana, from now on, only refer to me by my proper name, not by some childish nickname you have created."

"You do realise that I'll continue using it no matter what you say, right?" I laughed.

A deep growl sounded from his chest, warning me to stop talking and setting myself up for disaster. Maybe an hour or so passed in almost complete silence, no one bothering to say a word. During that time, I'd tried to distract myself by staring out of the window and absent-mindedly fiddling with a stray piece of Aro's hair while seated on his lap, but nothing cured my boredom.

"_Aroooo_," I moaned dramatically, leaning back so my head fell onto Marcus' lap.

"What is the matter, _cara mia_?"

"I'm _bored_," I lazily threw my arms up in the air.

"You have already reached boredom?" he asked with subtle amusement in his voice.

"Yeah, there's nothing to do, this is so _boring_."

Marcus ran his hand through my hair gently. "You could try sleeping?" he suggested.

"Why not? I've got nothing left to lose," I groaned, sitting back up and curling up in a ball under Aro's cloak.

He chuckled as he wrapped his cloak tighter around us, my head rested against his cool chest. After a minute or so, he began purring gently.

"Can I ask a question?" I murmured.

"Of course, _bellissima_," he smiled, twirling a strand of my hair around his finger.

"Why do you guys purr?"

"That is something best explained by Marcus," he responded, which caused Marcus to snap out of his dazed state and join in on the conversation.

"Purring is an involuntary action experienced by vampires around their true mate, _tesoro_. This often happens either as a sign of contentment, or to comfort and relax their mate," he explained.

"Oh, so that's why it always sends me to sleep?"

"That is correct. Due to the phenomenon of true mates being relatively uncommon, many are not even aware that we vampires are capable of purring. I was only made aware due to the many books and texts we own on mating within our library."

"So, you didn't purr before meeting me? This is, like, a whole new thing?"

"Yes, that is correct. Again, purring is involuntary, and I for one certainly do not even notice when I am doing it, unless it is pointed out," he chuckled lightly.

"Huh, that's pretty cool. I first heard it from Aro during my first week in Volterra, and then from Caius back at home that one night, and then you just before I fell asleep a few hours ago, but I kept forgetting to ask," I shrugged, "it is really soothing though, it has to be said."

"Really?" Aro spun my shoulders to face him.

"Yeah, bizarrely enough I can't help but fall asleep honestly. It almost feels like I'm being put under some kind of anaesthetic or something, it just completely numbs my thoughts," I giggled.

I curled back into Aro's chest as he cradled me in his arms tenderly, the soft sound of his purring making my eyelids feel heavy. Despite having no body heat whatsoever, falling asleep on top of him made me feel warm and cosy nonetheless for some reason.

-oOo-

"_Cara mia, svegliati_ ," Aro whispered gently.

I opened my eyes slowly and glanced out of the oval window to see that we had landed already, a black 7-seater Range Rover parked just off the runway. Bustling with excitement, I jumped off of Aro's lap and followed Caius out of the plane, Marcus and Aro just behind. This time once we got to the steps leading out of the plane, rather than watching me fall to the ground and laughing, Caius politely took my hands, carefully ensuring I didn't have a chance of slipping and face-planting into the ground.

"Huh, so you're not going to watch me fall this time, okay then," I snarked playfully.

"I would never," he responded sarcastically.

"If you say so, albino bunny."

His expression suddenly turned much angrier as he stormed away from me to the car with his hands in tight fists. On the plus side, at least I now knew what triggered him the most.

Once we got to the car, Demetri placed my suitcase in the boot before hopping into the driver's seat as per usual, and Caius dashed over as quickly as possible to join him in the passenger seat. Maybe I should've been a little offended that he was _that_ desperate to sit away from me. I sat in the middle as before, with Aro on my left and Marcus on my right, Renata and Santiago in the back two seats together.

After a few minutes of driving, the airport was no longer in sight, which is when I remembered something.

"Wait a minute; didn't Jane and Felix come to Forks to guard me as well?" I asked.

"They were relieved from guarding duties two days earlier, hence they are already back in Volterra," Aro informed me.

"Oh, that makes more sense, I thought we were just abandoning them with the Cullens," I quietly laughed, leaning back into Marcus' chest.

The drive back was pretty short to be honest, mostly due to the fact that Demetri often drives much faster than the speed limit. While Google predicted the journey to take just over an hour, we made it back to the castle in half an hour easily. Disappointingly though, we sped straight past McDonald's, causing me to let out a pathetic whimper like a sad puppy. The car took the usual route off the main road and down into the underground tunnel system, pulling in to park in the Volturi's indoor car park. This time, the car park was a little fuller than before, maybe twenty or so vehicles including a minivan and a few motorcycles dotted around.

I shuffled over to Marcus' side of the car as he placed his hands on my waist and lifted me out and onto the ground. Due to my general tiredness and jet lag, I was barely awake as we stumbled into the annoying-elevator-that-plays-opera-music, almost falling asleep leant against Aro.

"Please try to stay awake until you reach your bedroom, _bellissima_," he spoke over the quiet music.

I hummed, attempting to mumble 'too tired' which ended up coming out as a grunt, my arms wrapped around his neck.

With a roll of his eyes, he picked me up bridal style once the elevator stopped at our floor, dashing to my room at full speed and placing me down delicately on my bed. I spotted Caius and Marcus stood in the doorway out of the corner of my eye as Aro carefully removed my shoes.

"Should you not change your clothes?" he asked quietly.

"I don't care, let me sleep," I whined, muffled by my pillow.

He chuckled lightly, pulling a throw blanket over me and pressing his lips to my forehead

"_Sogni d'oro, il mio piccola piantagrane,_" he murmured under his breath with a chuckle.

**Author's note: Yay Eli's back in Volterra for the foreseeable future, how exciting! Thank you so much for getting this story past 10k views, it means a lot so thank you so so sooooo much for reading and enjoying what I write. In other news, today I was supposed to hand in my mark for a Statistics paper I supposedly finished at home and I had to make up a score because I'm too lazy to finish it haha.  
Translations (any errors are due to Google Translate, please feel free to correct me):  
Svegliati - wake up  
Sogni d'oro, il mio piccola piantagrane - Sweet dreams, my little troublemaker  
Thanks for reading, be sure to leave some feedback, stay safe, and ily!**


	26. Chapter 26

I was woken up from my blissful sleep by the sunlight brightly streaming through the window and onto my bed. Wait, when did the light from the window ever reach my bed before?

Sitting up with my weight propped up on my elbows, I realised that my entire room had been completely remodelled, all the furniture rearranged and replaced. How I'd missed this the night before remained a mystery to me. The walls were no longer a blood red colour but now white, and the window now stretched from ceiling to floor which gave a pretty damn awesome view of Volterra. My bed, which had previously been a king-sized bed with a mahogany headboard, was even bigger if that was possible, the headboard a smooth white colour while I drowned in pillows and blankets. I'd also apparently gained a vanity, which contained all of the makeup items I'd been given, and a desk, both painted white. In the corner of the room where the armchair used to be was a flat-screen TV, surrounded by a grey leather loveseat and two small grey beanbags. The only parts of my room which remained the same were my wardrobe, the same clothes as I'd left, and the bathroom.

Climbing out of my massive bed and untangling myself from the many sheets and blankets, I took a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt out of my wardrobe and went into the bathroom to change. I'd been provided with a new electric toothbrush apparently, as well as a new hairbrush, which did make things a little easier for me. Once I was finally ready, I unlocked the bathroom door and strolled out, pausing just as I spotted Chelsea sat comfortably in one of the chairs by the TV with the remote in her hand, scrolling through all of the channels which seemed to mostly be in Italian.

"Um, Chelsea?"

"Eli, you're back!"

She immediately leapt up onto her feet excitedly and ran at me, pulling me into another one of her suffocating hugs, this one way tighter than last time. This deathly embrace to last for a while before I managed to yank myself out of her grip, taking deep breaths so that the oxygen would flow back to my brain.

"I've missed you so much, you have no idea," she squealed, holding my hands tightly.

"You too, what are you doing here then?" I asked.

"The guard are all over in the game room, we're going to play Cards Against Humanity. I was going to ask you if you wanted to come and drag you down against your will if you said no," she responded with honesty.

"Well, why not then," I shrugged with an eye roll as she led me by the arm out of the room and down to the game room, "Quick question: What happened to my room?"

"The makeover? Yeah, the Masters wanted to make you feel more comfortable and at-home so they decided to redo the whole thing. I heard that apparently Esme Cullen designed most of it. You're friends with her, right?"

"Yeah, I guess you could say I'm pretty close with the Cullens."

"Do you like your new room then?"

"I love it actually, it's pretty much perfect," I paused, "the bed is massive though."

"It's better to have a bed that's too large than too small," she shrugged.

"Hmm, agreed, besides the fact that I literally end up drowning in pillows and blankets during the night," I giggled, "By the way, where's Afton then? I haven't seen him around yet," I asked her.

"Oh, he's been sent on a task with a few lower guards for a couple of days by Master Caius, something about fire maybe, or wolves. I don't know really, I wasn't listening. Anyway, he'll be back tonight if I remember correctly, but for now everyone else is still here," she smiled, "here we are then," she called, pushing the game room door open.

There were maybe fifteen guard members gathered in one corner of the room with Cards Against Humanity cards in their hands, including Felix, Demetri, Corin, Santiago, Renata, and funnily enough, the twins. It seemed Felix was not actually participating in the game like the others, but instead acting as an umpire, dealing out cards and choosing the winner of each round. Corin patted a space on the ground next to her and Chelsea dragged me around the circle of people so I was sat between her and Renata.

"Okay, so the winner of this round was 'Hey baby, come back to my place and I'll show you a PowerPoint presentation'," Felix laughed, "Who was that?"

Alec raised his hand with a grin, taking the card back and adding it to his stash. It seemed that he and Jane were way in the lead so far with much more than pretty much everyone else; really this was just a competition between the twins.

A few rounds in and I was already catching up which surprised me considering I how late I joined in. Eventually I swapped roles with Felix, seating myself in the middle with all of the cards.

"Oh my God this one, who's idea-" I didn't manage to complete my sentence, keeling over onto my side with laughter.

"Dude, you can't expect us to laugh at it if you're not actually going to read it out," Santiago remarked

"Just say it, Eli, we don't have all day," Jane snapped.

"_Domino's Oreo Dessert Pizza + The art of seduction = Having sex on top of a pizza_," I howled with laughter just as everyone went completely dead silent. Was it really not that funny then? Huh, figures.

"I am slightly worried about the game you are playing, Eliana. What is it?"

I spun around on my ass slowly to be met with Aro who was standing just behind me, looking down at me unimpressed. _Oh, so that's why the others didn't laugh._

"Oh um…Cards Against Humanity?" I winced, looking up at him.

"And why does this game require you to discuss '_having sex on top of a pizza'_?"

"It's um… I don't really have a good answer to that," I turned to the rest of the guard, "Whose cards were these in anyway?"

No one was willing to admit it was theirs as they stared down at their shoes timidly, although I had my suspicions that it was Alec.

"Okay, well it was definitely one of you." Still nothing. "Put it by this way, you've won the round…wait there's still one I forgot to read out."

"Please don't," Aro's exasperated voice sounded from behind me, but I ignored him.

"Oh-ho, if you thought the pizza one was bad, and excuse my language in this, '_Harry Potter erotica + An Oedipus complex = Being a motherfucking sorcerer'_," I couldn't help by laugh along with some of the other guards.

"That is quite enough for today," Aro took my hand and lifted me to my feet.

"But who won?"

He grumbled. "The Harry Potter one, now let us leave. Do enjoy the rest of your day," he nodded to the guard with an ever so slightly forced smile.

I was honestly quite shocked that he actually chose a winner, and so seemed the guard. Aro led me out of the room by my hand down one of the corridors, his human-paced stride quite difficult to keep up with.

"Where are we going?" I asked him.

"Patience, _cara mia_."

"Can't you just tell me now?"

"That would simply ruin the surprise, now wouldn't it?" he smiled.

We eventually stopped outside what I recognised as Caius' quarters as he tapped his knuckles on the door lightly, with my hand still held in his other one.

"Do come in," Marcus' muffled voice could be heard from the other side of the door.

Aro opened it and pulled me over to Caius' bed, where Caius was sat on the edge by the headboard and Marcus was stood a metre or so away from him with his arms crossed over his chest. As soon as Caius saw me, he groaned, falling backwards onto his bed with an ear-splitting creak.

"Nice to see you too," I snarked.

"Please sit, _cara mia_," Aro gestured to the bed.

I sat down on the other side of the bed from Caius comfortably.

"There is no need for so much distance, sit closer," Aro instructed.

With a light eye roll, I scooched over a little and so did Caius, but there was still a lot of space between us. Clearly fed up of our stubbornness, Aro picked me up under my arms easily and placed me down so that Caius and I were sat right up against each other, stepping back and resuming his lecture mode.

"Now," Aro clapped his hands together, "we are here to very simply settle whatever differences the pair of you have. Now, do not start talking or attempting to explain yourselves. Do not take it personally, but I could not care less if I tried. The reasons you two have for constantly bickering are irrelevant, and they make no difference to the fact that you are both simply acting irrational and immature. I think I speak for both myself and Marcus by saying that it is absolutely infuriating. All we need is an apology. From both of you."

Me and Caius both looked at each other, clearly neither of us willing to be the first to apologise. After a few seconds, I glanced down at my lap and inhaled sharply.

"Sorry." I muttered quickly.

"Sorry." Caius added immediately after me under his breath.

"Say it like you mean it," Aro said.

"Sorry Caius."

"Sorry Eliana."

"That was not quite what I meant but it will have to do for now. Isn't this just wonderful? Do you see how lovely it is when we all get along nicely like good friends?" Aro exclaimed, his tone incredibly patronising.

"Are you quite finished, brother?" Caius glared at Aro and Marcus.

"We will be as soon as you two embrace, just to prove that we have well and truly settled any disputes between you."

I glared at Aro, and then at Caius who seemed so reluctant to come near me that it was offensive. It didn't take long for Aro to grab Caius' arms and attempt to force him to hug me, but Caius shook him off.

"I do know how to embrace, Aro," he snarled.

"Then do so," he smiled menacingly.

Caius stiffly wrapped his arms around me, seemingly desperate to pull away. It was only when I hugged him back that he softened up a little, pulling me closer into his chest. Looking up, I noticed that Aro and Marcus had disappeared, just leaving me and Caius in the room together.

"Is Aro always like this?" I murmured into his chest.

He pulled me onto his bed beside him with ease so that we were both lying side by side with his arms around my shoulders. "You will get used to it," he chuckled.

I swung my right leg over him, cuddled into his side comfortably. Sure, I was still pretty damn annoyed at him, but I definitely couldn't stay mad at him for too long. He placed a soft kiss to the top of my head, rubbing my back gently.

"Did I hurt you?"

"Hmm?" I lifted my head up slightly.

"Your leg. I realise I may have been a little…violent," he explained, placing his cool hand where the red mark still was under my jeans.

"Oh, it's fine, don't worry about it. All I have now is a mark in the shape of your shoe," I laughed.

There was a short pause. "I promise to buy you a new speaker if you delete the song," he spoke.

"Really?" I groaned.

"Yes, and it must be removed from your collection permanently. If I ever hear that awful sound coming from you again, I will…"

"You'll what?" I laughed.

"I will…come up with some form of punishment."

"I'm sure you will. Fine, deal, consider that song gone," I agreed reluctantly.

He hummed happily. "What would I ever do without you?" he asked sarcastically.

"You would've been sold to a magician for his magic show by now," I quipped.

He angrily growled, pushing me away from him slightly. _Huh, so he really does get that triggered by his nickname, wow._

"I was just joking, babe, come on."

I shuffled closer to him before pressing my lips to his, running a hand through his unbelievably soft blonde hair. Without any warning whatsoever, he'd flipped me over onto my back so he was on top of me, his lips moving roughly against mine. I gasped in surprise as he ran his tongue along my bottom lip, and I granted him entrance, allowing him to dominate over my tongue while he growled deeply from his chest. Once I reluctantly pulled away from him for air, he continued to kiss and suck down my neck as if he was addicted to the taste of my skin, causing me to let out a soft moan. His lips met back up with mine, much gentler than before but still with equal passion.

"I love you, _carissima_."

"I-I love you too Caius, so much."

**Author's note: Awweee they said their first 'I love you', yay! This chapter is quite uneventful haha, but oh well. I'm so glad you guys are actually enjoying reading this, it makes me so happy I want to cry. Thank you so much for reading, be sure to leave some feedback, stay safe, and ily!**


	27. Chapter 27

"Are you sure about this?"

"Sure as sure, yeah, let's do this!" I answered over-enthusiastically.

Considering I was technically the future queen of the Volturi despite still being human, my mates decided it a good idea to bring me into one of their trials, not to get involved or anything, but simply to sit back and observe. Today, I'd been told that there were a few minor crimes to be dealt with, including inconspicuous killings, vampires drawing attention to themselves, and out-of-control newborns. While the kings all had thrones to park their arses on, the only place I could really sit was across Caius lap, my legs dangling over the arm rest. Jane was stood right beside us, just inches away from me. She had a defensive stance, which I found pretty hilarious considering how much of a pipsqueak she was compared to literally everyone else in the room.

"Uh, should I be worried that Jane is standing in front of me like some kind of personal bodyguard?" I laughed awkwardly to lift the tension.

"It is simply a precaution. Do not worry, these next few trials should be relatively uneventful." Aro assured.

"Are you excited, _carissima_?" Caius smiled amusedly at my increasing heart rate.

"Yeah, I love a good bit of vampiric law in action," I replied, earning a light chuckle from Marcus.

The doors to the throne room suddenly burst open as Demetri and Felix walked in restraining a male vampire. His dark brown hair was matted and dirty, his combat-style clothing slightly stained and worn away. He was quite largely built, just a little taller than Demetri and definitely more buff, and he seemed to have the appearance of a twenty year old. His pale skin contrasted to his blood red eyes which scanned the room hungrily, making me a little nervous as I swallowed back a whimper.

Aro stood from his throne confidently, striding over to him with another one of his forced and unnerving smiles plastered on his face.

"Ah, Octavius, quite the spectacle you made of yourself last month," Aro laughed as if it was a fond memory, "Would you mind terribly if I were to take a quick look?" he extended his hand out.

Octavius ignored him, alertly glancing around the room before his steely gaze fixed on me. "You have a human here? A little in-trial snack?" he growled lowly with a thick Italian accent as he tipped his head slightly to the side.

Jane took a side-step to the right so her form blocked him from me, while Caius tightened his grip around my waist on his lap, all three kings snarling at him.

"I see, she is with you? Oh, I should have known, of course the Volturi would be ballsy enough to break their own little law," his face twisted into a menacing grin.

"Don't you dare even consider laying a finger on her. She is not to be harmed, she is your future queen," Aro commanded, stepping backwards to shield me.

"Oh, but what a helpless, fragile girl she is, _un uccellino_, how adorable," he sniffed the air, "And her blood, I am sure it tastes just as sweet as it smells."

With that, he pounced, jerking himself away from Demetri and Felix and pacing towards me. Just before he had the chance to reach out and sink his teeth into my flesh, Jane muttered the word "pain" and he keeled over onto the marble ground on his knees, his face contorting in agony. Within a blink of an eye, Caius had placed me down on Marcus' lap and was stood in front of Octavius, Demetri and Felix stood either side gripping his arms.

"Do not look, _cara mia_," Aro instructed, attempting to avert my eyes from the scene.

"Keep your eyes on me, focus on me, do not look, please _il mio amore_," Marcus spoke, but I couldn't listen.

I watched on in horror as Octavius was torn limb-for-limb with a series of traumatising cracks, each of his arms, and then his legs, his tongue, and finally his head. His excruciating cries of pain rang in my mind, and I sat there powerless, emotionless. Once his body was finally destroyed, torn apart, killed, his remains, _his remains_, were dragged into a corner of the room where a small fire blazed. Each piece of him was tossed in one at a time, until every last chunk of him was gone. He was dead.

"_Tesoro, tesoro, _please talk to me…"

I could barely hear anything, my mind completely overwhelmed as horrifying images filled my head. It hurt, my head, every thought, everything hurt.

"She is just in shock, brother…"

Although my vision was deteriorating rapidly, or maybe it was just my perception, I was able to gather a rough idea of what was happening. Many concerned voices sounded around me, wanting to help, but all I could think to do was to sit helplessly, not a word leaving my mouth. Someone lifted me up from Marcus' lap horizontally and carried me swiftly out of the room, followed by another person. I curled into them tightly, instantly recognising the scent combination of aftershave and pinewood to be Aro's.

He placed me down on what I could only make out to be my bed, placing a kiss on my cheek. Just as he began to leave, I grabbed onto his arm, holding onto him tightly. I didn't want to be alone, not now, not yet.

"I must go and console Caius, _bellissima_. Renata will stay with you," he murmured, stroking the side of my face delicately before hesitantly leaving the room and closing the door behind him with a soft click.

"Eli."

I wanted to turn around to Renata but I couldn't. My mind was unable to focus on anything else, anyone else. It tormented me, and I just wanted the mental pain to be over. She reached out and took my hand in hers in a comforting gesture.

"Do you want to talk?"

It took a lot of effort and concentration to respond but I shook my head, still not pulling away from her hold. I didn't want to be alone anymore, didn't want to feel alone.

"When you feel ready, I'm here Eli," she reassured, pulling a chair beside me with my hand still in hers.

I needed to know that she was there, that she wasn't going to leave. Whatever thoughts were clouding my mind didn't make any sense, but it was overwhelming me to the point of pain. I wanted desperately to talk, for it to be over, but I couldn't. I sat in silence for what felt like hours, staring at the ceiling.

"What's the point?"

"The point in what?" she asked.

"What's the point in immortality? What's the point in living forever, in spending eternity on this planet, in this universe, still in existence?"

"That is a question I have asked myself for many, many years. I myself don't know why I agreed to this lifestyle, I was so young, so naïve. I was only twenty one when I was turned, and joined the Volturi only one hundred or so years later."

"Why?"

She shrugged. "It seemed like a good idea. My ability proved very valuable to the Coven. You see, my family and my descendents were, are, human, and have knowledge of vampires, although I am unsure if they do to this day. Me taking up this position not only was an opportunity not to be wasted, but also kept my family safe from punishment from the Volturi," she explained.

"So you really have living relatives?"

"Yes, very distant though. Most human, a few vampire. I have not seen them in a long time, but I now consider my family to be the Volturi, not so much my relatives and descendants."

"What is your accent by the way?" I asked. Renata had always had a very faint unknown accent, but I couldn't seem to identify it.

"I come from Malta, my family is Maltese," she smiled, "I was turned by one of my ancestors, Luca."

"How long ago?"

"A little rude to ask a woman her age," she scoffed jokingly, "I was born in roughly 1240 AD, so I am approximately 760 years old. Immortality is a concept I still have yet to wrap my head around, what with my body now frozen in time for eternity. Consider it both a blessing and a curse."

She moved over warily to lie down on my bed beside me shoulder-to-shoulder, my hand still gripping hers tightly. I curled into her side, continuing to stare up at the ceiling.

"Do you like being called Eli, then?" she asked.

"Hmm?"

"You really don't like to be called Eliana?"

"It's not so much that I don't like it, it just doesn't seem right, you know? Eliana sounds quite, I don't know, pretentious I guess. Usually I'll introduce myself as either Eli or El, both work to be honest," I answered.

"And you're okay with the Masters calling you Eliana?"

"I guess I'm just used to it now. Although, I reckon if they were to start calling me Eli all of a sudden, it would just be weird," I giggled.

"You should try shortening their names just to confuse them at some point," she suggested humorously.

"Ooh yes, what would I call them? Something ridiculously cute, like um… Ro, Cai, and Mark?" I laughed.

"That works."

"Has anyone ever used shortened versions of their names on them before?" I asked.

"No one, not that I know of. I wonder how they'd react to it though," she mused.

"Aw, they'll love it. Just imagine me going up to Marcus and saying '_hey Markie, how are you?_'"

"Or Caius, and saying '_hey Cai-bear'_," she laughed.

"Oh my God, I could call Aro '_Ro-bug_'. Imagine the look on his face!"

"I reckon they'd secretly love it."

"I think Aro would probably just laugh off the pain, Marcus would come up with something way worse for me, like 'smelly-Eli' or something like that, and Caius would have another little tantrum like he did on the plane here," I laughed.

She hummed a chuckle. "Your mates love you to bits Eli. You know that, right? They are the happiest they have ever been whenever they're around you, believe me. I have never seen them care for anyone, especially a human, this much before," she spoke.

"I know," a smile tugged on my lips, "I'm lucky to have them."

**Author's note: The word count on this chapter is the lowest out of all of them haha, never mind.  
Translations:  
Un uccellino - A little bird  
Real talk, I'm a little unsure because **_**basically**_**, in a few chapters, not to release any spoilers or anything, there might just be a little bit of smut BUT I don't know how I feel about actually writing it, I'm too innocent lmao. So, yay, now I need to decide whether to skip that whole bit out or to actually write it and change the rating on this story to mature, if you have any suggestions please help because I have a feeling writing that whole chunk is gonna be so cringey for me and I don't know if it will be worth it if most people are going to skip that chapter.  
Anyways, thank you again so much for reading, be sure to leave some feedback because your thoughts honestly make my day awwww, stay safe, and ily!**


	28. Chapter 28

By the time I woke up the next morning, my head was throbbing with a dull ache. I'd spent most of the evening before with Renata before falling asleep, but I hadn't even gotten dressed before going to bed, still in my normal clothes. I groaned loudly at the blinding sunlight streaming through the window, face-planting into the nearest pillow.

"'_Sir Afton of the Volturi, would you be so kind as to close the curtain for me?_', '_Of course, queen Eliana of the Volturi, it would be an honour'_"

"Do you ever shut up?" I snarked, muffled by my face pressed up against the pillow. I didn't even have to look up to know it was Afton.

"Yes, I am back, I don't blame you for your life being simply incomplete without me," he responded, "Also, I'd forgotten how humans sleep until just now, do you all make snoring sounds?"

I sat up and launched a pillow across the room at him which he caught easily. He smirked as I fell back, realising that I'd just hurled the pillow I was using and now had nothing to rest my head on.

"You happy now? You have my pillow."

"Want it back?" he taunted by waving it in front of my face.

"Give it," I hissed as I reached out for it, just for him to pull it away from my reach and above his head with his crazy vampire speed, "You're a dick, you know that?"

He ignored my comment and settled back on one of the grey beanbags by my TV. "Now that you're awake," some random song started playing, "say hello to Kelly Clarkson."

"I should tell Chelsea about your little crush," I teased.

"It's not a crush!" he yelled.

I giggled, placing a hand over my mouth. "Of course not, just an unhealthy obsession. Anyway, where did you get the speaker from? Caius-"

"Destroyed yours? Yeah, Corin told me."

"Corin? How the hell does Corin know? She wasn't even on the plane!"

"What can I say? Word spreads fast within the guard," he shrugged, "this one's mine," he glanced pointedly at the much larger royal blue coloured speaker sat on my desk.

"I didn't even realise you elderly vampires used any technology," I laughed.

Climbing out of bed, I went over to my wardrobe and decided to pick out an outfit. Something good for warm weather; the sun was beating down like the apocalypse outside. In the end, I settled on a pair of denim shorts, a white t-shirt, a light grey hair bandana, and a pair of Converse shoes. Afton made a remark about my outfit being 'edgy', but in response I flipped him off and locked the door to the bathroom to get dressed.

I went over to the sink and pulled out the box of contraceptive pills I'd brought with me. I really took them for my period more than anything, but still it was a good precaution to take, just in case I did get pregnant on the off chance. Not that I would anytime soon, as sex wasn't even something I'd remotely considered yet. Opening the pack, I realised I only had one left. _Shit_.

Once I came back out of the bathroom, Afton was flicking through TV channels boredly, eventually settling on some kind of Italian kids show with a bunch of grown adults dressed as children and singing nursery rhymes.

"Afton, don't take it personally, but what the fuck? Are you mentally okay?" I raised an eyebrow pointedly at the TV.

"Is anyone?" he turned off the TV quickly, "By the way, Renata said you had an existential crisis last night."

"Did she now? Yeah, it was a…weird evening yesterday to say the least."

"Do go on," he sat back, grabbing a notepad off my desk like some kind of therapist.

Reluctantly, I proceeded to recite my entire day, well knowing that if I didn't, he'd pester me to find out later. I didn't really know what was happening the day before. Was I in shock? Traumatised? It's like that whole memory was just a fuzzy grey area, as if nothing really happened. That vampire, what was his name? Oh, Octavius, he came at me hoping to drain my blood, only to be stopped by Jane and killed by Caius, with the assistance of Demetri and Felix. Why I reacted the way I did was a mystery to me, but at least I wasn't vampire food.

"Also, I forgot to mention," he added, "the Masters requested to see you in Aro's office."

"And you didn't tell me this earlier because…?" I asked exasperatedly.

"I don't have a good answer to that question, but they wanted to see you about seventeen minutes ago," he stood up, "allow me to escort you."

I sighed, following him out of the door. "What is with you lot and terrible punctuality?"

After a couple minutes of walking while Afton retold tales of his adventures out of the castle for the previous few days, we arrived at what I could only presume to be Aro's office door considering every door in this goddamn castle looked the same. He knocked quickly before darting away without a trace, which left me standing there awkwardly.

"Come in," Aro's voice called dismissively.

I hesitantly opened the door, walking in while staring at the ground. For some reason, I was feeling the same kind of shyness I did when I first met my mates all those months ago.

His tone instantly switched and became much more sincere as soon as he saw me. "_Il mio amore_, how are you?"

"Um, good, I guess," I answered timidly, glancing up at each of them.

Caius stood to his feet, pausing for a second before enveloping me in his arms while holding my head to his chest. I guess he felt bad for, you know, traumatising me and all that. I melted into his embrace, on the brink of having an emotional breakdown.

"Thank you for saving my ass," I whispered into his neck.

He seemed a little annoyed by my choice of wording, but his face returned to usual in an instant. "I'd do it a thousand times more, _carissima_."

Without warning, he lifted me off my feet, my legs wrapped around his torso as he placed a hand on my thigh to hold me up, sitting us down in the middle of the sofa so that I was straddled on his lap. I adjusted myself so that I was curled into him more comfortably, cuddled on his lap facing sideways.

"We apologise for traumatising you, _tesoro_," Marcus' voice murmured behind me as he pressed his cold nose against my neck.

"Don't apologise, seriously. It was either he died or I became vampire dinner, and I'm glad you didn't choose the latter," I smiled.

"If you are to be any vampire's dinner, you are to be ours," Caius purred before placing a chaste kiss on my cheek.

Aro took my hand in his, nosily sifting through my most recent thoughts for a few seconds as per usual. After pulling away, he burst out laughing manically, clearly having seen something that humoured him.

"What is it, Aro?" Caius snapped.

"Oh, brothers, you should have seen the shortened versions of our names our dear Eliana conjured up last night with Renata, simply priceless," he chuckled.

All gazes snapped to me as a blush spread across my face. See, this is the issue with a mate who knows everything about you; there are no secrets, none, no matter how hard you try. If anything, they see how much you wanted to hide the secret, which only makes matters worse.

"What names?" Marcus asked teasingly.

"It was nothing, I, um…" I trailed off shyly.

"Eliana here was discussing how many refer to her as 'Eli' or 'El', the only exception being us. Renata initially suggested the shortening of our names, which became 'Ro', 'Cai', and 'Mark'," he explained on my behalf as I hid my face under Caius' jacket, "Oh, but that isn't all; she even considered referring to us as 'Markie', 'Cai-bear', and 'Ro-bug'."

Marcus instantly erupted with laughter, his cool breath sending shivers down my spine. He tugged me backwards onto his lap and held me as humanly close to him as possible.

"You, _tesoro_, are one of the silliest people I will ever meet," he chuckled, planting a kiss on my neck.

Instead of responding, my face only became redder as I ducked my head down to hide myself with my hair. Honestly, at this point my life was just a series of embarrassment and regret.

"There is no need to hide your face, you look beautiful when you blush, _carissima_," Caius placed two fingers under my chin and lifted my face up to his.

"Cai-bear is right," Marcus laughed along with Aro.

I crossed my arms over my chest and pouted. "This is bullying, just plain bullying."

"Is it now?" Aro raised an eyebrow as he moved to sit in the small gap between Caius and Marcus where I was lying across.

"Definitely, I went to all the anti-bullying talks in primary school when I was nine, I would know," I giggled.

"What did those anti-bullying talks teach you about then?"

"Um, well you're supposed to tell an adult you trust, so…Aro, I'm being bullied," I whined.

"And what is the adult supposed to do?" he chuckled.

"I don't know, I didn't think ahead that far," I replied honestly.

"Marcus is correct, you are one of the silliest people I certainly will ever meet," Aro teased, pressing a soft kiss to my lips.

"By the way," I sat up slightly, "there's something I need to ask, before I forget."

"Go on," Caius gestured for me to continue.

I inhaled sharply. "You see, _god this is awkward_, I take these contraceptive pills every day, mostly just to help my period pains really, but, um, my prescription ran out, soooo…" I drawled, "that might be a problem."

"Of course, _cara mia_, we would never want to risk impregnating you accidentally," Aro responded with a serious face.

Marcus spontaneously snorted with laughter, followed by Caius and Aro chuckling with him. Clearly there was some kind of joke I was missing here.

"What's so funny?" I couldn't help but laugh along with them, their smiles infectious.

"Oh _bellissima_, all three of us are undead supernatural beings, along with our sperm, so, if it came to it, pregnancy would not be possible in anyway," Marcus explained amusedly.

"As reassuring as that is, is there any way I can access some more in anyway?" I asked.

"Of course, I am sure we can persuade Carlisle to send some over," Aro nodded, moving me to sit on his lap between Caius and Marcus within a blink of an eye.

"Do you have any plans for the remainder of the day?" Caius asked me.

"None really, is there anything remotely interesting to do around here?"

Marcus hummed in thought. "We have the gardens as you have seen a few times, the library, we could pay a visit to Aro's little houseplant family," Aro scowled at him, "the swimming pool-"

"Oh, the swimming pool, what a delightful idea!" Aro exclaimed suddenly.

"Aro, you hate swimming," Caius stated.

"Come now, brother, there is no activity more entertaining than swimming," he responded which I would've assumed was sarcasm if his tone wasn't so serious.

"Aro, I can't swim," I added.

"You are unable to swim?" Marcus asked in amused disbelief.

"Like a pebble to water, my mother always said," I shrugged.

"Yes, I am aware of your…nonexistent swimming capabilities, but do you really expect to live a thorough, successful life without basic knowledge such as this?"

"Are you really saying that, without letting you teach me to swim, my life will suck?"

"In layman's terms, yes," he answered simply.

I sighed. "Fine, fine, we can go swimming later, just don't expect too much from me."

"There is no time like the present," he stood up, placing me back down on the ground.

"Wait, we're going now?"

"Why of course, we will meet you at the swimming pool at," he checked his watch, "three o'clock."

Something told me this could get interesting.

* * *

I was back in my room with my towel wrapped around my torso after just having quickly showered. Maybe there wasn't actually any use in that, but still, I felt the need to freshen up. I checked the time; I still had twenty more minutes to get ready.

Before I'd even realised it, Heidi had materialised beside me, pulling my towel off and discarding it on my bed.

"HEIDI WHAT THE-"

"Relax, honey, I'm helping you choose out a swimsuit. I've been waiting for the perfect moment to dress you up for months," she responded excitedly, looking me up and down.

Suddenly, I felt very exposed, probably because I was. I reached over to retrieve the towel but she grabbed my arm, refusing to let me move.

"What do you think you're doing?!"

"Hmm, you have quite small breasts, not much of an hourglass figure, but a nice arse, we definitely need something to emphasise that, something high-waisted? Yes, I see lilac as a good colour on you," she babbled on.

"Um, can I have my towel back now?" I placed my hands over the important areas.

"Don't be like that, we're both ladies," she called, bustling into the wardrobe and rummaging through the bikinis, "I would recommend you shave."

"I've already shaved my legs."

"Oh Eli hun, I'm not talking about your legs," she laughed condescendingly with her head still in my wardrobe.

With a grumble, I stormed into the bathroom and reluctantly shaved 'not my legs'. Her little body assessment of mine was kind of awkward though, especially considering the fact that the only particularly positive thing she pointed out was my ass. While I was in the bathroom, she opened the door slightly to toss the bikini in my direction.

In her defence, she'd done a pretty good job of choosing one. This two-piece was high waisted, made my boobs look a little bigger, my stomach look flatter, and even made my hips look good. I emerged from the bathroom as she squealed, clapping her hands together before tying off the back of the bikini top.

"Yes Eli, what did I tell you? You should let me dress you up more often. Now for the hair," she continued.

"What do you mean my hair? I'm swimming, not going to some kind of fancy dinner," I snarked.

"Look, we'll just move it to one side like…," she adjusted it over and added hairspray to hold it in place, "so. When you go into the pool, the hairspray will wash out, which should make your hair look flowing and gorgeous as you swim."

I coughed, swatting away at the air due to how much hairspray she'd used. Meanwhile, she hurried over to my vanity, pulling out a bunch of makeup items.

"Heidi, I'm going underwater," I reminded her.

"I'm aware, these are all waterproof. Now, if there is one thing I know about the Masters, it is that they are not keen on women who wear too much makeup, so it needs to be subtle. I'm thinking mascara, concealer, maybe some of this," she held up a waterproof lip gloss.

"I can do my own makeup," I insisted.

"No, no, allow me," she began blending out the concealer, "I have _many_ years of experience."

She managed to somehow finish my makeup in two minutes flat. "_Ecco_, now you are ready. My work here is done, you look as stunning as always," she stepped back to admire her handiwork before heading over to my wardrobe and throwing me a pair of high-waisted denim shorts, flip-flops, and my grey zip-up hoodie, "put these on and let's go, you are expected in two minutes."

**Author's note: I need to stop writing so fast lmao, I'm literally getting out a chapter a day which is honestly crazy. It's just, with lockdown and GCSEs being cancelled and all, I have nothing better to do. If these constant updates annoy you, I'm sorry haha. Also, I feel like I want to give these chapters names at some point, but I don't know, we'll see how things go. Anyway, thank you so much for reading, be sure to leave some feedback because I love reading your comments aha, stay safe, and ily!**


	29. Chapter 29

Heidi led me down the startlingly empty corridors, the sound of my flip-flops reverberating off the walls. I felt very exposed, what with my entire midriff on show due to the bikini top Heidi had chosen out and my hoodie which didn't even cover much of my skin.

"Your heart rate is increasing," she observed. "Are you nervous?"

"Nervous? Ha, no," I tried to convince myself.

"It'll be fine, it's just swimming."

"That's the thing; it's swimming. I really can't swim, and when I say that, I mean it. Do you know just how many swimming instructors I've had throughout my childhood? Every single one of them failed to teach me to float, forget about swim," I explained.

"Wow, you really can't swim?" she asked in disbelief.

"I wish I could. Once, one of my friends held a pool party and wanted me to get in the pool with her, and I had to make up an excuse about me being ill and the chlorine affecting it, I don't know, I was desperate."

"So whose idea was swimming today?" she asked.

"Aro's," I responded simply.

"Probably just wanted to see you in a bikini," she muttered under her breath almost silently.

"You actually may have a point there," I responded unexpectedly, which caught her off-guard.

Her feminine laugh echoed down the hall. "Look, put it by this way, the Masters will never let you drown or get hurt in any way. It goes against their instincts."

"They'd better not in anyway," I scoffed jokingly just as we got to the set of double-doors which I assumed led to the pool.

The stench of chlorine only had gotten stronger up until this point, which explained why the pool had been built so far away from the rest of the rooms in the castle. I turned to Heidi, expecting her to go in first.

"Go in, I can hear them in there now," she gestured me through the doors.

I was about to ask how before I quickly reminded myself about her freaky vampire hearing. Cautiously, I pushed the door open and wandered in timidly with my hands in the pockets of my hoodie. When they said swimming pool, they really did mean swimming pool.

The room was surrounded by windows which allowed the warm sunlight to stream through and reflect off the surface of the clear water. Scattered around the poolside were a few white sun-loungers, one of them occupied with what I assumed to be the kings' clothing. The three of them were already in the pool, Marcus leaning against the wall while Aro and Caius looked like they were having some kind of contest, swimming instant lengths of the pool to the point where all I saw were two blurs of movement parallel to each other.

Marcus' face lit up when he saw my hesitant figure approach. "We were unsure whether you were going to show up, _tesoro_," he chuckled.

The other two quickly stopped their swimming and swam over to the wall at a much more leisurely, human-like speed.

"You're lucky I actually came, I was tempted not to," I giggled, tossing my hoodie onto the pile of dark clothing and proceeding to take off my shorts before walking over to the edge of the pool and dipping my foot in, "Is the water cold?"

"Not particularly, just jump in," Caius answered.

"You're crazy," I scoffed, "I can't swim, remember?"

"So? Just take a deep breath in and jump."

"But I don't want to drown!" I whined.

"We will not let you, _bellissima_," Marcus reassured.

"Just jump, we will catch you," Aro added.

I sighed. "Fine, here goes nothing. But, if I die, I'm blaming this one on you."

With that, I closed my eyes and lightly hopped up off my feet and into the pool, a light scream escaping my lips. The water rushed around my head just as I was brought back up to the surface by a strong pair of arms.

"What did we tell you, _carissima_? You will not die on our watch," Caius looked at me amusedly with his arms encircled around my waist as he held me against him tightly.

I was surprised at how long it took me to notice that all three of them were obviously topless and only wearing swimming trunks, their toned muscles fully on display. This made me instantly blush slightly as I wrapped my arms around Caius' neck with my legs around his torso.

Without any warning, he then placed his hands on my hips and passed me across the pool to Aro. I grabbed onto his arm as soon as I was within reach, anxiously pulling myself into him.

"I believe with enough practise, we could definitely teach you how to swim," he spoke, propping me up against him with one hand under my right thigh.

"You keep telling yourself that," I laughed just as I looked down at my top, "ugh, you've got to be kidding, my bikini top is coming loose. It feels like my boob is going to pop out at any moment," I groaned, clutching the top to my chest with my left hand.

"Would that be such a bad thing?" Aro asked cheekily.

"He is right, _carissima_," Caius chimed in.

"I was actually going to ask one of you to retie it for me, but I guess I'll just ask Marcus, seeing as he's the only mature one here," I snarked and spun around, still holding the top to me, "Marcus, babe, could you do me a favour and retie my top?"

"With pleasure," he smiled, gently tugging me over to him so that I was leant forward against the wall.

"It's always the quiet ones," Aro whispered silently.

"What was that, brother?" Marcus looked at him unimpressed as he tied the back of the bikini top much more securely than Heidi had done.

"Did I say something?"

"Nothing of any significance," he retorted, wrapping his arms around me so that my back was pressed against his chest.

"Thanks," I smiled awkwardly and leaned back in to him.

"No problem at all."

As soon as he finished his sentence, he picked me up horizontally and threw me across the pool to Caius. I screamed as I landed in his hold, smoothing my hair out of my face while I came to the realisation that I'd just been hurled five or so metres away from Marcus.

"What was that for?" I yelled at him while Caius swam us back over.

"You seemed like you were becoming bored," he justified with a shrug, followed by a loud chuckle from Aro.

"So the new cure to boredom is being hurled across a swimming pool?" I asked exasperatedly.

"Are you bored now?"

"No, but-"

"Then I do believe it worked," he teased.

Caius held me in his arms tightly as I circled my legs around him. "Do you keep forgetting I can't swim?"

"Caius caught you, did he not?" Marcus raised an eyebrow, a smirk playing on his lips.

"Well yeah, but-"

"Then this is not an issue, _tesoro_."

"But I-"

"_Cara mia_, this is a losing battle, stop trying," Aro advised, earning an even bigger grin from Marcus.

"Ugh, god, you're so annoying!" I groaned at Marcus.

Before I'd realised it, Marcus had me pinned to the edge of the pool, stood between my legs while his face was millimetres from mine. He had a playful grin as one arm snaked around my waist, the other holding my thigh.

"I'm sorry, what was that you just said, Eliana?" he asked.

"I didn't say anything, I don't know what you're on about," I giggled.

He pressed his lips to mine gently, biting at my bottom lip as I opened my mouth further. His hand went to my hair, holding the back of my head firmly while the hand that had been around my waist slowly edged down further. I reluctantly forced myself away from him for air, when I noticed that his irises had become almost completely black, with only a few crimson strands left.

"Your eyes are black," I noted with a light chuckle.

"A vampire's eyes only ever turn black for one of two reasons; hunger or lust," he answered, his cool lips moving to my neck and collarbone.

"Which reason is it now then?"

"Not hunger, _bellissima_," he murmured huskily, which sent an odd shiver through my body.

"I do apologise for interrupting such an… intimate moment," Aro's cheery voice chimed in from a few metres away before anything had the chance to escalate, "but the whole purpose of this visit to the swimming pool is to swim."

"Okay then," Marcus' eyes quickly turned back to their usual crimson colour, but he still seemed a little bitter, "you take Eliana."

With that, he again threw me across the pool but in Aro's direction. This time, I wasn't caught as I fell back into the water before a pair of arms pulled me back up to the surface again. I opened my eyes to see myself pressed up against Aro, my head resting on his shoulder.

"Marcus!" I turned my head to yell at him, "Again?!"

"I am simply keeping you on your toes," he replied.

I groaned. "Why are you like this?"

"Only for you," he responded sarcastically.

"Hold your breath," Aro instructed.

Suddenly he jerked my arm down just as I let out an abrupt yelp, pulling me under the water with him. Had he given me a little more warning, I probably could've stayed under for longer, but I began seriously struggling for breath very quickly. Due to the fact that his hand was holding my wrist, he saw that I needed air and swam us back up to the surface. I gasped just as he came up beside me, holding on to my waist.

I slapped his arm lightly. "A little warning next time would be nice, thanks."

"I did warn you, it is not my fault that you did not hold your breath as I instructed," he excused.

"You barely gave me enough time to!"

"_Cara mia_, you make it seem like I had the intention of drowning you," he chuckled.

"Well I hope you didn't. Drown me and I'll make sure my ghost comes back to haunt you, and Marcus for good measure," I crossed my arms.

"What did I do?" he called from the other side of the pool.

"What do you mean? You hurled me across the swimming pool well knowing I can't swim! Twice!" I yelled back.

"Aro and Caius ensured you were caught each time, _tesoro_," he countered, "like I would let you drown," he scoffed disbelievingly.

"You'd better not," I answered him back as Aro swam us back over, his arm around my waist.

"_Carissima_, even if any of us wanted to hurt you like that, our instincts would never let us," Caius assured, taking me from Aro's grip and holding me bridal style just under the water.

"That's a relief," I giggled before kissing him lightly on his jaw.

I'd like to say the next hour or two of swimming was productive, but it really, _really_ wasn't. It turned out that Aro was a patient guy in pretty much everything except when he's teaching. Caius just seemed glad that it wasn't him I was constantly arguing with this time. The three of them had literally tried everything they could think of to teach me to swim, which included throwing me off their diving board and leaving me in the middle of the deep end to see how I'd do on my own, but nothing worked. By the end, not only was I exhausted and fed up, but I was also just as incapable of swimming as I was when we'd started.

"Well, that was a waste of an hour," Caius muttered as he climbed out of the pool. I couldn't help but stare at the toned muscles in his back as they flexed when he moved. _God help me, my mates are hot._

"There is no need to be like that, brother, this was fun," Marcus responded half-heartedly, climbing out with him.

He turned around and offered me his hands, pulling me out of the pool by my arms and helping me onto my feet. I was absolutely freezing as I shivered on the spot, shifting my weight between my legs in a weak effort to stay warm. A pair of cold arms abruptly surrounded me from behind without warning, pulling me backwards into the pool again as I let out a scream. Once my head came back to the surface of the water, I realised who it was.

"ARO, WHAT THE HELL?!" I shouted, splashing him with water while his arms still surrounded me from behind.

"If only you could see your reaction, _tesoro_. I only wish I had thought of that first," Marcus laughed, gripping onto his sides.

"That was rather hilarious, _bellissima_, if I do say so myself," Aro murmured with a light chuckle as his lips grazed my neck softly.

"What is with you three and scaring me half to death?" I steadied my breathing, my heart rate finally coming down to acceptable levels.

"There is no need for such dramatics," Aro's cold lips moved against my skin as he began kissing my neck with more force, causing me to let out a soft moan. His hands were just under my breasts, tracing light patterns on my skin.

"Get a room," Caius joked, while I lifted my head up to notice that he already had a towel wrapped around his waist along with Marcus, both of them drying their hair quickly.

"Geez, how are you that fast?" I drew my eyebrows together as Aro helped me out of the pool.

"Vampires," Caius responded simply, carefully tossing me a towel.

I pointlessly wrapped the towel around my torso just as Caius took my hand and began to lead me back out of the room.

"Who gave you rights to _our_ mate, brother?" Marcus asked.

"He makes a valid point," Aro added, quickly towel-drying his hair slightly.

"Eliana, who would you rather spend the remainder of the afternoon with then, hmm?" Caius raised an eyebrow.

"Um…you snooze, you lose," I shrugged, looping my arm around Caius' as he lead me back out and to his quarters with a smug grin on his face, "catch you later boys!"

**Author's note: Haha, I almost didn't get this chapter done in time to post it today. It's so much fun watching how her relationship is progressing through these chapters, I'm literally loving writing this. Anyways, thank you so much for reading, be sure to leave some feedback, stay safe, and ily!**


	30. Chapter 30

**Warning: This chapter is rated MA 18+ and contains sexual activity between two consenting adults. If you're not comfortable with this, feel free to skip to the next chapter, but hey, you do you.**

I had my towel wrapped around me tightly, my swimsuit held in my left hand. My hair was still absolutely soaked as water dripped down my back and onto the floor.

"Where should I put this?" I asked him, gesturing pointedly to the damp fabric.

"On the radiator by the window. The breeze should dry it off efficiently," he responded while pointing to the radiator which already had his swimming trunks on top.

I placed it on top carefully before heading back over to his sofa to join him. He had his towel still wrapped around his waist as he opened his arms so that I could recline back into his embrace. The only source of light in the room was the sunset which gave Caius' diamond-like skin a peachy glow.

"I will never get over how cool your skin is," I marvelled, holding his arm up and absent-mindedly playing with his fingers.

He seemed amused by my fascination, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of my head. "I know you said not to apologise, but I do feel truly awful about yesterday."

"Why? Caius, babe, you saved my life, literally. I was almost vampire food and, I'm not going to lie, if I was to be fed on by any vampire, I would _way_ prefer it to be you, not Octavius or whatever the hell his weird name was," I insisted, "I mean, the guy literally found out who I was and attacked me regardless. How moronic would you have to be to make a decision like that?"

"I never liked him, always said he was a waste of space in our dungeons. Aro only wanted to keep him due to his ability. I should have had him executed before he had the chance to try and hurt you," Caius snarled lowly before pulling me onto his lap, cradling me in his arms.

"He was a dick," I stated.

He chuckled lightly in agreement. "I love you so much, Eliana."

With that, he pressed his cool lips to mine, kissing me gently and taking his time. I attempted to reposition myself more comfortably so I could reach him easier, but instead my towel ended up slipping off my body, and I was too slow to catch it before it fell to the floor. Once I looked back up at him, I noticed his eyes had gone completely black as he pulled my right leg over so that I was straddled on his lap. His lips met back up with mine before trailing down my now bare chest, teasingly grazing his teeth against my skin.

"Caius," I gasped, tilting my head back as his hands came to rest just over my ass.

"_Sei così bello_," he murmured, quickly standing to his feet with my legs wrapped around him and moving us over to the bed.

I felt the backs of my knees hit the bed as he leant over me, his own towel now beginning to loosen from around his waist. His lips roughly crashed against mine, running his tongue across my lips while I opened my mouth to give him access. Meanwhile, his hands slowly massaged my breasts just as his towel finally slipped and fell onto the floor at the edge of the bed lightly. He moved me up so that my head was rested on one of the pillows and his cold body was completely pressed against mine. It was only then that I felt his erection pressed against me.

"Caius, I-I…" I trailed off nervously while my heartbeat increased astronomically.

"I won't do anything you don't want me to," he reassured, his weight supported by his left arm while his right hand slid down past my stomach.

It felt so alien to me, I was so unused to being touched like this. His thumb rubbed gentle circles around my clitoris, which caused me to let out a mumbled version of his name. My hips bucked disjointedly under his touch and I gasped as he slid his index finger inside of me, which was soon joined by a second finger. I panted harshly while he thrusted into me harder and faster, his left hand now massaging my breasts while his lips sucked on my neck. It felt like I was seeing stars in my eyes when I cried out his name loudly, all of my muscles tightening against him as I rode out my orgasm in waves.

It took a minute or so for my breathing to return to normal, eventually opening my eyes to see him still hovering above me with a smug grin on his face. That felt…incredible. He pressed his lips against mine tenderly and stroked the side of my face. I couldn't think of what to say next. What was I supposed to say?

"Wow," I panted slightly, which earned a hum of agreement from Caius.

He flipped over onto his back as I moved to lie on top of him. "You're so beautiful, _carissima_. You know that, right?" he spoke in a husky tone.

While I settled on top of him with my head on his bare chest, I was reminded of what was unmistakeably his erection, which was pressed against my stomach.

"Um, Caius? What about-"

"Do not worry about that," he whispered, running his hands through my hair.

"Are you sure?"

"I am certain. Pleasuring you is enough for me, _il mio amore_."

I paused for a second. "Please tell me your walls are soundproof," I drew my eyebrows together, my worry audible in my tone.

"They are," he began, and I sighed of relief too soon, "but we are in a castle full of immortal beings with high-tuned senses," he smirked.

"You're joking," I groaned, causing him to chuckle, "wait, your quarters are just down the corridor from…" I trailed off. Aro and Marcus must've literally heard every moan and cry that left my mouth.

"They may become a little bitter tomorrow morning, what with me being the first to pleasure you," he laughed proudly, "in fact, Marcus' quarters are," he tapped on the wall behind the headboard, "on the other side of this wall."

"And you didn't tell me this earlier because…?"

"What would you have done if I had informed you earlier then?" he raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know, move us to my room, just to give us a little more personal space," I shrugged.

He shook his head and placed a kiss on my forehead. "Are you aware that your quarters are only a few rooms away from the guard's quarters?"

"Huh, so basically there's no way to win?"

"It is better the other two hear our activities than the entire guard. Do not worry about any consequential teasing. If any of the pathetic guard members ever have the audacity to hurt _my_ little human mate in any way, I will-"

Little mate? I wasn't that little, surely? I mean, I was 5'5", I thought that was a pretty average height, no?

"You'll leave them alone, because it's just a little bit of harmless fun," I finished, "Trust me babe, I was considered the weird dorky kid at school, and I was always getting picked on, so I can definitely take a little bit of friendly teasing."

"Who hurt you? Give me their names, and I will-"

"No, no, no. You won't do anything because they were just a bunch of stupid teenage girls, and that's just what they do," I insisted.

"Fine, I will ask Aro for a list of names," he added stubbornly.

"No you will not, don't be like this, Caius. Those girls are way below me, and half of them failed their A-Levels, so…karma's a bitch, I guess."

"Watch your language, _carissima_," he scolded harshly.

"Okay then, karma's a…pain. Happy?"

He instantly had me flipped over so that I was back underneath him, the feeling of him rubbing teasingly against my entrance sending sparks through my body.

"Do not make me punish you for your attitude, is that understood?" he murmured huskily as his eyes irises darkened again, cupping one of my breasts with his right hand while his left pinned my arms above my head.

I whimpered quietly under the contact with his smooth, marble-like skin and nodded my head, much more cautious about the level of noise I made than I was before now that I'd been reminded of my close proximity to the other quarters. Somehow, I managed to resist the urge to grind my hips against his just as he released me from his hold, turning me around so that his front was pressed against my back.

"You are a lot to deal with, _carissima_," he muttered, his lips brushing against my shoulder while his arms were wrapped around my waist, "but I would never have anything different."

"What do you mean, 'a lot to deal with'? I'm an absolute delight," I argued.

"If you are convinced," he chuckled before pausing for a moment. "How are you…physically? Did I hurt you in any way?"

"Not at all, I'm maybe ever so slightly sore but I really didn't expect anything less," I smiled sheepishly, "in your defence, not only am I a virgin, but you are also an insanely-strong vampire… would I still be considered a virgin?"

"Technically yes," he confirmed, "you are until you have had sexual intercourse with one of us. I say one of us, due to the fact that if-"

"You're crazy, babe, I would never _ever_ cheat on you. Literally no other male on the planet compares to any of you," I assured honestly, "if anything, I'd be more worried about you. You literally look like a supermodel, any girl would go absolutely mental over you."

"I will forever remain loyal to you and you only, you mean so much more to me than you could ever imagine," he responded, tightening his arms around me, "but supermodel?"

"Like every teenage girl's ideal boyfriend summed up," I answered.

He kissed my neck softly. "What did I do to deserve you? Even if I do have to share."

"I find that quite funny actually. You finally find your true mate just for her to be shared with your fellow brothers," I giggled.

"I am surprised at how well you have shared yourself between us equally," he mused.

"I was too, it just seems to come naturally somehow. It's like how I could never choose one of you out as my favourite."

"But if you had to, it would be me," he added smugly.

"Says who?" I teased.

"Are you saying you prefer the company of Aro or Marcus over me? Do I need to remind you of what I am capable of?" his cold fingertips brushed against my entrance, causing me to subtly buck my hips.

"Who's to say they couldn't either?" I raised my eyebrows jokingly.

"You are asking for trouble, Eliana," he shook his head, pulling me so that I was as close to him as I possibly could be.

I turned myself around so that my head was on his chest, running my fingers through his still damp hair. "Question; was long hair a trend in your human time or what?"

"Don't you like it?"

"No, I love it. I don't think I could ever imagine you with short hair, it's just crazy how all three of you have such long, healthy hair, and manage to pull it off without looking hippy," I giggled.

"Long hair was a sign of status," he explained, "myself and my brothers all came from wealthier, well-respected backgrounds in Greece."

"Oh yeah, you're Greek. I keep forgetting English technically isn't at all your first language."

"I speak many languages fluently, English being one of them."

"What language do you speak the most then?" I asked.

"For the vast majority of the time, I speak Italian or Greek, but it is dependent on who it is I am speaking to. For example, due to the fact that your language skills are appalling," I scowled at him, "to you I speak English exclusively. My brothers, as you have heard on several occasions, speak Greek amongst each other. We have alliances with covens across the world, so it helps to be able to converse in their native language, although I despise French."

"Um, why?" I laughed.

"The sound of the language irritates me, and learning to speak it was a painful experience," he responded angrily.

"Fair enough," I sighed, curling into him.

My eyes began to close as I lay pressed up against his body, the soft hum of his purring in my ear soothing all of my senses while he ran his fingers through my hair gently. "_Buona notte, bellissima_," he whispered.

**Author's note: I did it, I wrote the smut I'd been dreading all week. Things kinda escalated quickly here, but this is Caius we're talking about, what else did you expect? I'm so happy with all of the positive feedback this story has been getting, and I'm so grateful for everyone who's been supporting me through this whole experience.  
Translations (Any errors are due to Google Translate, not me, but feel free to correct me either way):  
Sei così bello - You're so beautiful  
Buona notte, bellissima - Goodnight, gorgeous  
Thank you so much for reading, be sure to leave some feedback, stay safe, and ily!**


	31. Chapter 31

"Aro, you would not believe what I just heard!"

Marcus burst into Aro's quarters where Aro was sat busily writing away at his desk, answering to more painful correspondences from other covens containing incessant whining about their laws. He turned to him irritatedly while Marcus offered his hand.

"Is this truly worth interrupting me, brother?"

"Find out for yourself," he raised an eyebrow.

Aro rolled his eyes and took Marcus' hand, sifting through his recent thoughts. Huh, at least he wasn't the only one who couldn't get the thought of their mate off his mind. He stopped at his most recent memory curiously, and now he saw why Marcus was so eager to share it. Was Caius…with Eliana…already? All he could really hear were her moans and yells of his name through the wall of Marcus' quarters, but it was definitely enough evidence to go on. Apparently their bond was also becoming thicker according to Marcus' ability, several more thin strands winding around the brilliant gold bond tie of the mating bond. How the hell had his brother gotten to sleep with her so much sooner than him?

He pulled his hand away bitterly, forcing a smile on his face. "Let us pay the pair a visit, shall we?"

* * *

I opened my eyes tiredly as the sunlight shone blindingly through the window. For a moment, I forgot where the hell I was, until memories from the bliss I'd experienced the night before came flooding back. Looking up, I saw Caius still had his arms wrapped around me comfortingly, his cold body pressed against mine.

"Good morning, _carissima_. How are you feeling?"

I moved around a little to try and gage which of my muscles were hurting the most. The area between my legs was unsurprisingly a little sore, but weirdly enough, so was my neck.

"I'm okay, a little sore I guess," I responded, before pausing for a second, "You know, according to human laws, I'm still legally considered a child," I laughed.

"I have always said how pathetic humans are," he remarked, lifting my chin up and pressing his lips against mine.

Still aching slightly, I moved myself carefully so I was straddled on top of him with my breasts pressed against his front, my lips gently moving with his. His hand slowly edged downwards from my above my waist down to my thigh. I ran my palms along his front, feeling his cool, statue-like figure underneath me-

"Good morning, _cara mia_."

I screamed and quickly flipped myself over, pulling the sheets up to my neck to cover myself. It was then that I saw Aro and Marcus both stood beside the bed, Marcus with his arms crossed while Aro had a forced smile plastered on his face.

"Do you ever knock?!" I drew my eyebrows together exasperatedly.

"Why? Did we miss anything?" he asked, giving me a knowing look.

"No, just finger fucking," Caius responded proudly.

"Caius!" I slapped him across the arm angrily, the sound ringing through the room.

"Yes, we heard," Aro continued, "such a shame you were to leave us poor souls out of what was clearly the time of your life, a time to be shared-"

_Is he really saying what I think he's saying? That man is absolutely crazy._

"Right, I'm not dealing with this. Can one of you please pass me my towel from beside the sofa?" I pointed to the other side of the room impatiently.

"Can you not get it yourself?" he smirked.

I gestured to my figure covered by Caius' duvet in response. "Aro, I'm not wearing anything."

"And how come you are comfortable without clothes around Caius but not us?" he asked.

"Because it wasn't you I slept with last night," I retorted, fed up of his little games.

"That can be arranged," he added, to which I exaggeratedly rolled my eyes. "_Tsk_, attitude like that is punishable, Eliana," he spoke huskily.

"Marcus?"

"Hmm?" he joined the conversation, apparently in his own world momentarily.

"Can I please have my towel?" I asked.

He sighed. "If you insist."

Reluctantly, he instantly reappeared in front of me, towel in hand. I took it from him and shot him a quick smile. Pulling it under the duvet, I attempted to wrap it around me from underneath, but struggled a little which ended up leaving me squirming in Caius' bed like some kind of dying worm.

"I would be happy to assist-" Aro began.

"Nope," I interrupted, standing up with the towel now loosely wrapped around me, "Thanks for the evening, babe," I called, before glaring at the other two and shuffling out of the door.

* * *

"Really, brother?" Marcus began as soon as Eli left.

"What did I do?" Caius looked at him smugly.

"Oh, you know what you did. We agreed not to pressure our mate into anything she isn't comfortable with and, instead of allowing her to progress her relationships at her own pace, you show up and pleasure her into oblivion," Aro seethed.

Caius chuckled. "Exactly, I did not pressure Eliana into anything. This was an entirely mutual decision, a spur of the moment. Would you like to see for yourself, Aro?" he offered him his hand, well knowing seeing everything that happened for himself would make his brother more jealous than he had ever been before.

"No, thank you. Must you be so selfish, Caius?"

Caius had a mischievous glint in his eyes. "You are both simply just jealous that I was the first one to see her in bed, to feel her gorgeous, warm body against mine, to feel her tight-"

"Brother, I get the idea," Aro interrupted calmly, but still trembling with anger.

"By all means, second place is still open for either of you," Caius raised his eyebrow, "but do keep in mind that I was first," he bragged.

"Must you be like this?" Marcus asked slightly irritatedly, "How long were you planning this advancement for?"

Caius held his arms up in surrender. "Advancement? Brother, this was not planned at all, I was simply sat on the sofa with Eliana on my lap when her towel slipped off of her perfect, goddess-like figure and onto the floor, and soon so did mine-"

"Again, brother, we get the idea," Aro stopped him from finishing his sentence, "but what of her…"

"Virginity?" Caius finished, "she is still very much a virgin. I would never push her too far, and I would never hurt her. You know this, brother."

There was a pause in the room. Caius had been the first to bed their mate, despite Aro's confidence in it being himself. While Aro was simply irritated about being further behind in his relationship with their mate, Marcus on the other hand was more disappointed that he would be last, as he knew that once Aro set his sights on something or someone he wanted, he always succeeded, no matter the cost.

Aro clapped his hands together. "Well, I'd best be off. I have a telephone meeting scheduled in with Eleazar, as I was hoping he would be willing to visit so we can find out if Eliana possesses any gifts of her own," he explained joyously.

"Aro, she is not some object to add to your collection, do not get any ideas," Caius warned.

"Of course not, my brother, I would never even dream of exploiting my dearest Eliana in any way. I was simply curious, as I am sure you are too," he responded with a smile before heading back out of the room, "I will see you later."

* * *

I headed back to my room and closed the door behind me, holding my towel to my body with my left hand. That was crazy; I really was just…Caius called it 'finger fucking', so I guess I could say I really was just finger fucked by Caius Volturi.

After grabbing a pair of jeans and a black tank top, I strolled into the bathroom and looked in the mirror to see that my lips were still a little swollen. In fairness, from what I remembered, he had kissed me pretty damn hard, so I wasn't entirely surprised. The thing that really made me gasp though was the trail of love bites he'd apparently left on my neck. The only way I was ever going to be able to cover those up would be by wearing a turtleneck, but it was annoyingly the middle of summer. _Screw it, I'm wearing a tank top and that's final._

Just as I finished getting dressed and eating the waffles that had been left on my desk for breakfast, someone knocked on the door. I opened it to be met with Santiago and Renata, who were both stood there more awkwardly than usual, and that was saying something.

"Um…hey?" my introduction came out as a question.

"Eli, hey…we were just seeing how you are, you know, _what's up girl_, and were wondering if you wanted to come outside with us for a while?" Renata offered. Why was she acting so off?

"Sounds fun, let's go," I smiled, grabbing my shoes and following them out.

They seemed pretty quiet on the way to the gardens, considering the pair of them were pretty much always bickering about something. Renata informed me about the next guard movie night scheduled in for the next day in the evening, which I ended up promising to turn up to. Once we got outside and into the gardens, the three of us settled in the shade underneath a tree beside a small pond. Apparently someone had already brought out a few water bottles, which I assumed were for me considering I was the only one who drank water.

"So, how was your evening yesterday?" Santiago asked.

"Good I guess…" I trailed off, not really willing to go into detail.

"You had fun, or so we heard!" Renata snorted, causing both of them to completely lose all control of their laughter. So _that's_ why they were acting so off.

"You heard, huh?"

"Everyone did dude, you practically screamed Master Caius' name," Santiago laughed, "you should've seen the way the others were cheering you on!"

"We never knew you had it in you girl, go you," Renata added with a giggle.

"The hickey's a dead giveaway," Santiago continued amusedly.

With that, I picked up one of the water bottles that had been left out and squeezed it, causing a stream of water to fly at Santiago. I was surprised that he hadn't dodged it but, in fairness, he hadn't seen it coming at all. The water droplets dripped down his face, pooling on the now damp ground beneath him. Renata burst out laughing while he sat there in shock, before grabbing another water bottle for himself.

"You asked for it," was the only warning he gave before doing the same to me.

Renata really thought for a moment that she could just hide away from the action, but instead I caught her off-guard and squirted her with water, which left tiny droplets in her hair and tangled in her braid. The whole spontaneous water fight continued for a good twenty or so minutes, and by the end we were all dripping wet as if we'd just been outside in a goddamn thunderstorm. I collapsed onto the ground, rolling through the grass tiredly.

"You're making yourself an easy target here, dude," Santiago towered above me with the water bottle positioned above my head.

"I'm out, I surrender, imagine me holding up a white flag," I groaned before standing back up to my feet.

"This top was new as well, nice going Eli," Renata snarked.

We headed back inside as all three of us now needed to dry off properly. The water bottle I was carrying was still half full as a precaution, just in case the other two were to try any funny business. After walking down one of the corridors for a minute, Aro appeared out of nowhere. He seemed as joyous as ever, but his face turned a little when he noticed that I was soaked.

"Why are the three of you covered in water?" he asked, confused.

"Um…water fight?"

For some reason, I decided to demonstrate by squeezing the water bottle before my brain actually clocked in the fact that there was still half of the contents still inside. I looked up hesitantly to be met by a now angry Aro, whose face and expensive-looking Italian suit were now covered in water. The other two quickly skedaddled away to safety, which left me standing there to deal with him alone.

"I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry," I panicked hurriedly.

Instead of saying anything, he took the water bottle from my grip and unscrewed the lid, pouring the remaining contents on my head as I gasped in shock. Still with the same serious face as before, he extended his hand out, offering me back the empty bottle.

"You may need to refill that," he spoke, before disappearing back down the corridor without a trace.

This left me completely alone in the deserted hall, water dripping down my body and onto the cold stone floor. Ooh, I was _definitely_ going to get revenge; Aro had just messed with the wrong human.

**Author's note: Ooh Aro and Marcus' jealously is something else entirely haha. I'm so glad the last chapter did so well, I cringed at myself just reading it back lmao. I don't know why I'm so weird about this kind of thing, but thank you so much for everyone who actually talked me into writing that chapter, without you it probably wouldn't exist at all aha. Thank you so much for reading, be sure to leave some feedback because I love to hear your thoughts, stay safe, and ily!**


	32. Chapter 32

I was sat in Aro's office on his black leather chair, spinning around in circles while eating the pasta I'd been given for my meal. My hair and clothes were still damp, but I couldn't be asked to change, instead reminding myself that it would dry eventually. Still though, how _dare_ Aro pour water on my head, even after he was the one who interrupted me and Caius that morning.

Suddenly, the door burst open, and Aro, Caius, and Marcus all stood there frozen in the doorway. I spun the chair around slowly to face them, an eerie silence filling the room while we stared at each other in confusion.

"…hey," I waved awkwardly, taking in another mouthful of pasta.

"I did not expect to find you in here, on _my_ chair, _cara mia_," Aro raised an eyebrow.

"Me neither, I got bored," I shrugged.

He gestured for me to get off, but I refused. "You want me to get off? Why should I?"

"Because we in fact came here to have a meeting, and it would help if you were not seated on my chair," he responded.

"Oh, I'm sorry for ruining your tiny butt imprint, you should've just said," I teased which earned a scowl, standing up with my bowl and moving over to the sofa to sit on Marcus' lap on the sofa.

"Why is your hair wet?" Caius asked, sat beside us.

I propped my feet up on his lap. "Ask Aro."

"Such accusations," he gasped dramatically, widening his eyes.

"What on earth did you two do with each other?" Caius seemed disgusted.

"Oh relax, get your head out of the gutter," I giggled. "He poured the contents of my water bottle on my head."

"Brother, why did you feel the need to water Eliana? She is not one of your houseplants," Marcus joked, his arms wrapped tightly around my waist as I continued to eat my pasta.

"She squirted water at me first!" Aro defended.

"I have a name, you know," I reminded him playfully.

"Okay, _Eliana_ squirted water at me first, or should I say _smelly-Eli_," he childishly corrected.

"You're so mean," I pouted, crossing my arms over my chest.

He instantly lifted me up off Marcus' lap and placed me down sideways on his while he sat on top of his desk, one hand on my thigh while the other snaked around my waist. "Mean?"

"You called me smelly-Eli," I frowned, pretending to be upset.

He chuckled, pressing a soft kiss to my cheek. "I meant to say _Eliana_."

"U-huh, sure," I drew my eyebrows together and nodded sceptically.

"I am not mean, _bellissima_, I am Aro Volturi," he argued.

"Your point?"

"My point is that, contrary to popular belief, I am not 'mean', I am in fact the most compassionate vampire you could ever meet," his tone lacked in confidence.

"Fine, you're not exactly mean, but I wouldn't go as far as to say you're compassionate. Maybe…a little psychopathic?" I laughed.

"I agree," Caius chimed in.

"I have to side with Eliana on this one, Aro," Marcus added.

"Hmm, and I am the mean one?" Aro seemed genuinely offended as he frowned.

"You may be psychopathic Aro, but it doesn't mean I love you any less, babe," I giggled, curling up into a ball with my head on his chest.

"_Psh_, psychopathic," he muttered to himself in disbelief while cuddling me as close to him as possible and pressing a kiss to my hairline.

"Don't take it personally. You're the psychopathic one, Caius is the one with anger-management issues, and Marcus…I don't know about you, babe," I turned my head to him, "you just have a general way of creeping people out," I laughed.

"I'd watch your wording, _cara mia_," Aro murmured in my ear.

While Caius seemed to acknowledge my statement about him with a shrug, Marcus seemed beyond confused, and slightly hurt. "I really 'creep people out'? How?"

"You don't really, babe," I slid off Aro's lap and curled up with Marcus, "you're just a cinnamon roll, too pure for this world," I giggled.

"'Cinnamon roll'," he repeated to himself with a chuckle, absent-mindedly tracing patterns on my forearm.

"Oh, did you want to have a meeting? Because I can go-" I pointed to the door.

"Not at all, not at all. We were simply going to discuss sending some of the guard to Seattle to deal with an issue that has arisen there," Aro explained.

"What issue?"

"A newborn army, their purpose being to destroy the Olympic coven and eradicate your friend, Isabella Swan."

I shot up worriedly. "Am I the only person who didn't know about this?!"

"The issue is being controlled, we will handle it accordingly," Caius reassured.

"Wait, you said a…newborn army?" I questioned.

"An army of newborn vampires. Vampires are most powerful during their newborn stages within the first year of immortality, easily able to crush an older vampire," Aro informed me, "The Cullens are apparently preparing to face the newborns themselves, but an assault of that magnitude is far from manageable."

"That is why I recommended sending Jane, Alec, Felix, and Demetri. It should not be a tremendously difficult task," Caius suggested.

"My thoughts exactly, brother. Maybe we can also be updated on young Bella's mortality," Marcus spoke.

"Then it is settled. The guard will be dispatched in two days time," Aro clapped his hands together before turning his head back to me. "Do you see? The issue is being controlled, _cara mia_."

I still wasn't entirely convinced. What the hell was with everyone and leaving me out of the loop? Especially when it concerned one of my best friends? Marcus must've sensed my anxiety, as he began purring in my ear which calmed my nerves immensely.

"Why are they after the Cullens? Why Bella?" I asked.

"We do not know, but we will find out soon enough," Aro answered simply, "meeting over. We will do what we can to eliminate this issue, the last thing we'd want is the coven's destruction."

I drew my eyebrows together. "Okay, it's not just _what_ you said, but it's the tone-"

"_Cara mia_, do not fret. We have a close alliance with the Olympic coven, so we would never wish them harm unnecessarily."

I tilted my head to the side. "See, there, it's just your wording-"

"Do you trust us, Eliana?" he cut in.

"Of course I do, of course, yeah, I'm just… worrying over nothing," I assured myself.

"Precisely," he responded, "this situation is being handled, _il mio amore_. I shall have the guard notified of their task within the next hour, and I expect they will be occupied for two weeks approximately. Jane will lead this mission as per usual."

So, no one, not even the Cullens themselves, had bothered to tell me that they had an army of crazily-powerful hungry vampires coming after Bella? The _human_? Huh, figures.

"So…that's it? You really had to come in here and kick me off your chair just to say a few words?" I looked at Aro, frustrated, "If you're quite finished, I think the chair might still be warm."

Just as I walked over, Aro placed his hand over my chest, stopping me in my tracks. "Did I give you permission to sit in my chair, Eliana?"

I rolled my eyes. "Fine, _all-mighty Aro Volturi_," I bowed dramatically, "may I have the _honour_ of sitting in your chair and ruining your tiny butt imprint?"

"Tiny?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Tiny," I confirmed with a nod.

"For that statement, no you may not," he snarked.

"Be like that," I scrunched up my nose at him and sat back down on Marcus lap as he placed his hands on my waist.

"I do believe you are losing here, Aro," Marcus grinned.

"Losing? Losing what?"

"Thanks a lot, Marcus, you have ruined it for both of us!" Aro yelled exasperatedly.

"Ruined what?!" I was becoming impatient, none of my questions answered.

Caius let out a soft laugh. "_Carissima_, these two," he gestured to Aro and Marcus, "were jealous because I spent last night…with you. So, in order to settle this dispute, I do believe they made a competition based on who would be next."

"These accusations-"

"Did you?" I crossed my arms.

"We agreed not to pressure you into anything you-"

"That didn't answer my question, Aro. Did you or did you not create a competition against Marcus on who would sleep with me next?"

Aro paused for a moment. "It was Marcus' idea."

"That it was not! This has your name written all over it, Aro-"

Wow, so I'd become a competition now, huh? I hadn't realised they were that desperate, or jealous of Caius. But since when was I some kind of trophy girlfriend they passed around? Now that's just _rude_.

"I literally don't give two flying fucks-" I stopped, noticing the glares I was receiving from all three of them, "I mean, I don't care who made up this stupid competition, but it stops now. Continue it, and I'll vow to only sleep with Caius for the rest of my existence. _Capeesh_?"

Aro stared at me for a second with his jaw dropped. "You wouldn't."

"Watch me," I taunted.

"Gladly-"

"Oi! Don't be like that, no one asked. No more competitions, no more getting jealous, no more _she-loves-me-more-than-you_ bullshi- I mean nonsense, I love you all equally. Deal?"

"You would make a good queen some day, _carissima_. Minus the foul language, of course," Caius shrugged.

"Thanks, babe," I shot him a smile before continuing my speech, "I will choose who I spend my time with, and I'm trying hard enough as it is to ensure none of you crazy peeps are left out. Please don't make my life any more difficult for me, there are three of you freakishly-strong vampires and one of me i.e. the physically weak, clumsy human. Oh, and also," I turned my head to Aro, "for someone who's competing to win me over, not letting me sit on your chair was a real dumb move. Speech over, thanks for coming to my TED talk."

Marcus sighed. "That is precisely what I said but Aro-"

"Nobody likes a suck-up, Marcus," I shook my head and leant back into his chest.

Aro let out an immature snort of laughter. "Aro," I warned.

"What are your plans for the remainder of the day, other than Aro watering you like a houseplant?" Caius asked, which earned another scowl from Aro.

I shrugged. "No idea, not much to do around here."

"Would you like to spend the evening with me, _tesoro_?" Marcus asked, a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

"Sounds fun," I giggled, ignoring the death glares Aro was shooting at Marcus as he let out an audible huff. "You snooze, you lose, babe," I turned my head to him.

"I am not a fan of this attitude to life, Eliana," he added stubbornly.

"Hey, Marcus asked first, just wait until next time," I laughed.

"Let us go then, _il mio amore_," Marcus stood up, taking my small hand in his and leading me back out of Aro's office.

"This was fun! Again, I'm sorry about your tiny butt imprint, Aro!" I called behind me playfully.

* * *

Walking into Marcus' quarters, it had such a different aesthetic to any of the other rooms in the castle. The wall on the right was completely filled with books from ceiling to floor, with a dark wooden ladder to reach up to the higher shelves without having to constantly vampire-jump, while the opposite wall was painted a dark grey colour with some kind of woodland painting hung up beside the bed. The desk by the window at the end of the room was much tidier than Caius' had been, everything organised in neat piles. His TV was also definitely bigger than mine, with a few DVDs scattered around the floor.

"This is cool," I pointed to the painting.

Marcus chuckled. "Caius painted it, and he insisted I take it since it fit the colour scheme of my quarters so well."

"I knew he was an artist, but he paints?" I asked surprised.

"I am surprised he has not shown you his art studio yet," he responded.

"Okay, so Caius does art, you…read?"

"As you can see, reading is an escape for me," he swept his arm across, gesturing to his insanely-large bookshelf.

"Huh, so what's Aro's thing?" I asked.

"He adores music, there are very few instruments he is unable to play," he informed me.

I walked over and settled down on his sofa, Marcus taking up the cushion to my left beside me. "Did you want to watch something?" I asked.

He picked up the TV remote and began flicking through a bunch of movies. "I have many different films on here, I usually watch them when I get tired of reading," he explained, "let us watch this one."

"Which one?" He opened up one of many films I was absolutely terrified of: Child's Play. "No."

"Why not?" He pouted slightly.

"Not only does it scare the hell out of me, but it's also terrible," I stated.

"Please? It is one of my favourite films, it is so bad that it is funny," he pleaded.

"But I don't like jump scares," I drew my eyebrows together.

"They are not too frightening, I promise," he assured, beginning the movie.

"Okay, well when I scream and everyone runs in here thinking I'm dead or something, you're to blame," I shrugged, shuffling over and leaning my head on his shoulder while I hugged his right arm to my chest.

The first half of the movie wasn't so bad, me only interrupting with the occasional "_holy shit_" and "_it's gonna kill you dumbass, turn around_". By the time we got to the second half of the movie, I'd moved so that I was lying on top of Marcus, cuddled as close to him as humanly possible so that I could easily hide my face every time anything happened. Whenever a jump scare came up, I would jolt slightly, prompting him to chuckle before purring in my ear lightly to calm my nerves.

"This movie's so stressful," I murmured.

"However your reactions are adorable," he countered, "next time, we should watch something much more graphic and bring Aro and Caius with us."

Just as he said that, another jump scare came up, causing me to whimper like a puppy while he shushed me gently, running a hand through my hair. "It's like you're trying to give me a heart attack."

"I would never try and hurt you, _tesoro_. If anything, quite the opposite; I will always protect you, with my life if necessary."

"Don't talk like that, I don't know what I'd do without you," I frowned, the thought on its own making me want to burst into tears for some reason.

He hummed lightly, tightening his hold on me. "When I first saw your true mate bonds with us, I was incredibly reluctant to meet you. I did not want to become attached, afraid of losing you and being left heartbroken, but I am now glad Aro and Caius persuaded me into forming a relationship with you. You are the most brilliant, extraordinary, beautiful person I have ever met, _bellissima_, and the saddest part is you do not see that in yourself," he spoke.

I shuffled upwards so my head was in line with his and placed a kiss on his jaw. "You need glasses, Marcus. It's an absolute miracle to me that I'm bonded to you three. You're like walking gods, not only devastatingly gorgeous but the most wonderful people I've ever met. I'm now glad Alice, that crazy child, dragged me along to save Edward from making a dumb decision, because without it, I would've never met you. And I really, _really_ don't understand what the hell I did to deserve you, it's beyond me," I giggled.

"You see, that is what I do not understand about you, Eliana," he chuckled lightly while shaking his head, "You really do not see just how incredible you truly are. Maybe you have managed to single-handedly turn my life upside-down, but I would not have it any other way," he murmured.

"Wow, what did I do in my past life to deserve you?"

"You must have messed up badly," he laughed, "I am thinking along the lines of serial killer, anti-Christ-"

"Don't be like that," I slapped his chest jokingly, reaching up to press a chaste kiss to his lips.

"It is such a shame I have to share you," he mused.

"Such…" I trailed off with a yawn, "…as life," I shrugged.

"You seem tired, _tesoro_. Do you want to sleep?" he asked.

"I'm fine, great, I'm thriving actually," I responded wearily, earning a chuckle.

**Author's note: Eli found out about their jealousy, ha! This chapter took a little longer to get out but that was only because I was editing for instagram sorry (follow me haha /seriousactorsheen)  
Also, little side note, basically once this story is finished, I have some really jUiCy ideas for a sequel, involving Eli becoming an absolute badass queen, so depending on how well this does, that may be an idea for the future hehe.  
Anyways, thank you so much for reading, be sure to leave some feedback because your lil' comments are the highlight of my day, stay safe, and ily!**


	33. Chapter 33

"_Buongiorno, il mio amore_."

I groaned, pressing myself into Marcus' side with a yawn. "When did I fall asleep?"

"Approximately two minutes after you claimed you were 'thriving'," he teased, attempting to get up from the bed while I refused to move off of him, "_tesoro_, the day has already started. I have paperwork to do."

"I don't care, you're too comfortable," I murmured with my face flat against his torso.

He checked his wristwatch. "Alright, I may be able to spare ten minutes, but then I do need to start working," he chuckled.

"You're the best," I mumbled.

"I will ensure Aro and Caius are made aware of that."

I slapped him lightly across the chest. "No you won't, don't make me have to deal with your immaturity again. I mean, what the hell were you thinking?" I laughed.

"What were we thinking? That Caius got the privilege of seeing you in bed first, and we both desired the same," he answered honestly.

I paused for a second. "It's crazy how fast I've fallen for you. I mean, when you actually think about it, how much time have I _really_ spent with you, considering I've already slept with Caius? It's a little…almost disturbing how quickly this whole relationship is moving."

"_Bellissima_, if you feel uncomfortable with anything-"

"No, no, not at all. I was just never really 'lucky in love' or whatever. Noah, as you've already met and executed, was my first boyfriend, and even then we were together for a year and I felt too uncomfortable to ever kiss him," I explained.

"You had never kissed anyone before?" Marcus asked in surprise.

"No, not until I came here," I shrugged.

He pressed his lips to the top of my head. "I honestly never would have guessed, you are a natural."

"I'll put it on my CV. I'm thinking '_Eliana Arrowood. Queen of vampires. Natural kisser according to Marcus, King of vampires_.'"

He laughed softly, wrapping his arm around me tighter. "The reason for the speed of your relationship with us is the bond. I do not mean to sound…I believe people nowadays say 'cheesy', but you were made for us, you are our other half. True mates are fate's way of connecting two beings that are perfect for each other, and somehow you are perfect for all three of us."

"So, has three mates ever happened before?" I asked.

"I have been researching this recently. In fact, no, the most mates any one being has been reported to have is two, and that was over two thousand years ago. You, _tesoro_, are an exception. There being three of us is the sole reason you feel mating pulls as a human, due to the fact that there are three gold bonds connected to your heart at once."

"Gold?"

"The colour of a _true_ mate tie is gold, mate is silver, friendship is yellow, family is emerald, love is red, and hatred is blue. Bonds are often mixtures of different ties woven together. For example, your bond with Isabella Swan is quite interesting. It contains yellow, red, one very thin blue strand, and oddly enough, one even thinner silver strand."

"But silver is…" I looked at him weirdly. Me and Bella weren't mated, that was messed up, what the hell?

"If you two had ever decided to form a relationship of that nature, your bond would allow it-"

"Let me stop you right there. I am not, I repeat, am NOT forming a romantic relationship with my best friend," I drew my eyebrows together in disgust.

"That is not at all what I was suggesting. Merely, if you had feelings for each other before meeting us, a mating bond could have develop between you-"

"Please stop," I cringed.

"Okay, I will," he chuckled, "but it is true."

"I don't care. I can't believe I'm even needing to say this...there is absolutely no way I am ever falling in love with Bella."

"I did not think so, Aro informed me that you are heterosexual. But, if you had-"

"But I didn't, and I never will," I couldn't get that image out of my head, "can we please stop talking about this?" I whined.

"Good idea. If Caius was to see or hear of that bond, he would have an utter meltdown," he mused.

"I can imagine," I giggled, stretching and rolling off of him, "I'd best get ready for the day."

"That is the spirit," he encouraged half-heartedly.

Lazily, I stood up from his bed, wandering back out of his quarters. "Enjoy your paperwork, Marcus!"

* * *

I was lying down on my stomach on my larger than king-sized bed, messaging Bella. I hadn't really been in contact with her much since I left, so it felt right that I reached out now. All I needed to do was to think of a way to start a conversation without seeming desperate but also making it seem like I wanted to talk to her. After hesitating for a while, I sent the message.

_Hey Bells! How is youuu?_

Corin suddenly burst in, closely followed by Chelsea and Renata. She was dressed in a dusty pink colour cropped halter neck top and black shorts, while Chelsea wore a pair of burgundy leggings and a black sports bra. Renata however literally looked like she'd just stepped off the runway in a pair of black vinyl leggings which hugged her hourglass figure, black heeled ankle boots, and a crimson blouse which was tied up in the middle, exposing her pale skin.

"Can I help you?" I raised an eyebrow.

Corin jumped up and down on the spot excitedly. "Afton told us you dance, so we're taking you down to the dance studio!" she squealed.

My phone buzzed and I picked it up from my throw blanket to see the message.

_All things considered, ok I guess, what about youuu?_

_I'm great, just checking because of, you know, the newborns and all that_

"…Eli!"

"Sorry, just messaging Bella," I laughed awkwardly.

"So, are you going to dance in that," Chelsea glanced pointedly at my jeans and tank top from the day before, "or what?"

"Oh yeah, give me a sec."

I hopped up from my bed and bustled over to my wardrobe. Fortunately, I guess Aro had seen that I danced already as my wardrobe was pretty well stocked with exercise outfits. I pulled out my red dance team hoodie from my suitcase, which I'd forced my mother to pay extra for so that "Eli" would be printed on the back, a pair of black leggings, and a grey cropped t-shirt.

After quickly changing in the bathroom, I was met with an excited squeal from Chelsea. "No. Way."

I looked around before fixing my gaze back on her ruby red eyes. "What?"

"You were on a dance team?"

"Um…yeah? I wasn't that good, and I was only ever given one solo. Why is that so exciting?" I giggled.

"Because I've always _dreamed_ of being on a dance team. You see, when you're a vampire who works for the Volturi, it's a miracle to actually be allowed to dance, forget about be on a team."

"That's…actually really sad, I'm sorry," I laughed before turning around to Renata, "I love your outfit by the way, but how exactly are you planning on dancing in that?"

"Those two," she gestured to the immature duo of Chelsea and Corin, "are the ones who dance. I usually just watch or coach from a distance, pointing out flaws in technique."

Without any warning, Corin lifted me up horizontally. "This saves time, I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all," I groaned with my arms crossed.

I felt wind rushing around my head while I squeezed my eyes closed. I'd made the mistake of keeping my eyes open one time when Alice had decided to demonstrate how fast she could run, and Carlisle had to give me eye drops which I had to reapply every two hours because my eyeballs had become so sore and inflamed. Not exactly my best moment.

After a few seconds of running, I was placed down in what I remembered to be the dance studio. All of the walls were painted white except one wall at the front which acted as a mirror. Considering how dark and depressing most of the castle was, this room was one of not many rooms which were open-plan. Felix, Santiago, and Alec were already settled down in the corner of the room for whatever reason.

"What are you doing?" I asked them. Did they dance? I would pay good money to watch Santiago doing ballet.

"Playing go fish, want to join?" Santiago offered.

"Nah, I'm off to dance. Continue playing your nerdy little game," I joked, sticking my tongue out at them before going to rejoin the others.

"Can you do a leg hold?" Chelsea asked just as both her and Corin did so simultaneously.

"Um, I haven't, you know, stretched in a few weeks, but…" By some miracle, I managed to hold my right leg up above my head.

This pattern of randomly stretching went on for a while, to the point where Renata was pushing on the small of my back while I tried to do the middle splits. It turned out that vampires are also scarily-flexible, Alec demonstrating by proving to Chelsea that he could still do an over split, which disturbingly enough he could.

I spent the next hour tumbling, as my coach was always making fun of me for my terrible form. Again, apparently vampires can tumble crazily-fast as well, to the point where my round-off back handsprings looked like they were in slow-motion compared to theirs.

"Oh my word, we should do a handstand competition," Chelsea suggested.

"Yes, I love that idea!" Corin squealed excitedly.

"This can't end well," Renata muttered under her breath.

Felix went over to the far corner of the room and plugged in his iPod. "Here's the deal. I will act as the judge in this, so if you're form is terrible," he aimed that at me, "or if you mess up, you're out."

"Who put you in charge?" I snarked jokingly.

He ignored my comment, instead blaring 'We Found Love' by Rihanna out of the massive speaker. I'd been forced to join them in their little competition, which I knew wasn't going to end well, but I reluctantly agreed nonetheless. The first minute or so wasn't too bad, minus the constant wobbling, but after that, I begun to get head-rush and my head was throbbing uncomfortably. What didn't help was Felix's running commentary, which included "Eli's face is going red, is it because she's angry, embarrassed, or upside down?". I responded to him with "shut your pie hole, Felix" and I rolled out and onto my back on the floor, completely out of breath.

Before I'd even realised it, a pair of arms scooped me up off the floor, and yelped in fright before I looked up so that my gaze met Aro's.

"That was impressive, for a human that is," he mused.

"How long can vampires hold a handstand for then?" I asked him while he sat me down on the floor against the wall on his lap, Caius on my left and Marcus on my right. How long had they been sitting there for?

"Hours if necessary," Caius informed me.

I looked down at my chest to be met with a girl's worst nightmare; boob sweat. All I needed was a shower, and the fact that I was surrounded by my super-hot mates while looking an absolute sweaty mess wasn't preferable.

Aro chuckled lightly. "Do not worry about your appearance, _cara mia_. We actually came here to discuss a private matter with you. Shall we take this to my office?"

_Shit, what did I do?_

"You have done nothing wrong," he answered my unasked question, "this is simply an issue that would come up regardless, sooner or later."

Aro stood up and helped me to my feet in the process, followed by Caius and Marcus. I stumbled out with them, now absolutely dog-tired after that workout I'd been put through. It got to the point where I only made it a few metres before halting in my tracks, my shoulders slumped over.

"Tired?" Marcus turned around and chuckled.

"It's not funny, can you carry me please?" I whined like a stubborn child.

"Can you not walk yourself?"

"No it's too far, it's all the way down the stairs and along the corridor and then along that other corridor," I groaned, gesturing wildly.

Rolling his eyes, he instantly swept me off my feet and had me held on his side above his hip as if I was a small child, which was only possible due to our startling height difference. Caius seemed far from amused as he walked just behind us down the spiralled staircase

"It really is not that far, Eliana," he sighed.

"Yes it is, look I'm tired okay?" I whined again.

"I heard the first time."

"You see?" Aro began as we got to his office and he opened the door, "not far at all."

Once we got in, Marcus placed me down on Caius' lap while he took up the seat on the opposite side of the sofa, Aro sat comfortably in the middle as he mindlessly twisted a strand of my hair around his finger.

"So, you may be wondering…"

I couldn't pay attention to the rest of his sentence at all, due to the fact that Caius had placed his hand on the inside of my thigh and was gently massaging between my legs. His other hand was wrapped around my waist tightly so I couldn't move my hips at all, and I had to bite down on my lip hard to suppress a moan.

"Not now, brother, there is a time and a place for pleasuring Eliana," Aro spoke coldly, a slight pang of jealousy in his tone.

_Did he really just say 'pleasuring'? That's laughable honestly. But how did he- oh, my thoughts. So he's listening to this entire conversation I'm having with myself? Oh. Hey Aro, stop being nosy and let go of my ankle, your constant use of your ability is just a little off-putting, no offence, love you._

He instantly removed his cold hand from the exposed skin of my ankle with a smirk on his face. "Your inner thoughts are quite hilarious, I have never seen anything like it," he laughed, "As I was saying, we are here to discuss your transformation."

My heart rate instantly sped up. "Oh," was all I got out.

"Do not fret, _tesoro_. We do not want to put any pressure on you, this is simply a topic we should get out of the way earlier," Marcus reassured me.

"Quite right," Aro continued, "we thought it a good idea to wait until you are twenty one years old to change you. That way, you will have reached full maturity, and you will still have just over three years of humanity left to live. During that time, you will be kept on extra supervision due to your…fragility. Is that okay with you?"

"Um…yeah, that works, it's just a lot to take in at once," I stumbled on my words nervously.

"Of course, I would imagine so," Aro sympathised, "I was in a very different scenario when my own transformation occurred."

"What was your transformation like, then?" I asked curiously.

He sighed. "It is a long story, _cara mia_."

"I literally have all day, unless you have somewhere to be," I shrugged.

"Okay, I will tell you from the very beginning, and I will try to make this as simple as possible. When I was a young human, I was born in ancient Greece in the 1300s B.C. The reason there is no set date is simply due to the ever-changing calendar systems. I was raised in a very wealthy family of high status, along with my younger sister, Didyme," At this, Marcus' face seemed to turn solemn suddenly, "My family were closely connected to the royalty in Athens at the time, which was the reason for our excessive wealth.

"When I became the age I have been frozen in eternally," he gestured to himself, the physical age of what I assumed to maybe be his mid-thirties, "there came a man who claimed he had the elixir of immortality. I, the naïve, wealthy, greedy man I was, decided to purchase this elixir, but I was told that the man had to administer this himself. He refused to show his face or reveal his identity, and to this day I have no idea who this mystery vampire was. I was transformed by him, and when I woke up three days later, I unfortunately went on a rampage through the village nearby, slaughtering most of the population. After that, I became a nomad for many years before encountering Marcus," he gestured to the now worryingly depressed-looking Marcus, "and that was the beginning of the Volturi coven."

Slightly concerned about Marcus at this point, I moved over from Caius' lap onto his, hugging him as tightly as I was able to. He slipped out of his dazed state and made brief eye contact with me before wrapping his arms around my waist and holding me as close to him as he could without hurting me, as if to stop me from leaving his side.

"Are you okay?" I asked him sympathetically.

"I am fine, _tesoro_," he spoke deeply, much less spritely than he usually was.

I could tell something was up, but I didn't want to pry. Clearly there was something in Aro's back story that hurt Marcus so I made a mental note to not bring the subject up again. I held Marcus' head to my shoulder as he began to purr out of contentment. For some reason, seeing him upset hurt me so much, tugging painfully at my heart.

**Author's note: I don't really plan on having the whole 'Aro killed Didyme' thing in this fanfic as that would hurt Marcus so much and writing about him being sad makes me sad ahhh. I just thought it would be extra reason for Marcus to be protective over Eli.  
Anyways, another update-a-day yay, thank you so much for reading, be sure to leave some feedback, stay safe, and ily lots!**


	34. Chapter 34

I tried to stand up as gracefully as possible but still fell back onto Marcus' lap regardless, earning a chuckle. "I'm off to the guard's movie night."

"You are not required to befriend the guard, _carissima_, you are above them," Caius said irritatedly.

"But they're nice people. Besides, what else am I supposed to do with myself all day long, hm? Hate to remind you but I'm the only woman around here besides the female guard members, and that bitchy receptionist who glares at me every time I walk past," I raised an eyebrow.

"The receptionist you speak of will become dessert very soon. All I am saying is that you do not have to befriend them if you do not wish to. But, movie night?" he seemed confused.

"You will find that the guard's so-called 'movie night' can be quite the entertainment, brother," Marcus chimed in.

"Wanna come?" I tilted my head back to look up at him.

"I don't see why not," he smiled, pressing a kiss to my forehead and taking my hand.

Aro groaned. "Again, brother? You spent last night with Eliana."

"You snooze, you lose," I giggled, pressing a chaste kiss to Aro's lips as I felt a little bad for him before following Marcus' lead back out of the room.

We walked hand in hand in silence for most of the way, the candles along the walls providing the only source of dim lighting. I stopped just before we reached the corridor my room was on.

"Do you mind if I change? This is just really uncomfortable," I gestured to my dance clothes.

"Of course," he beamed as I held his hand and led him into my room.

One cool thing about living in a castle was the room service. Every day at about midday, while I was out doing whatever, one of the human maids would come in to tidy up a little, take out my laundry, and leave snacks as I was the only human around. I'd bumped into them once or twice before, and they were so lovely honestly, you'd never expect it in a vampire castle. This time, they'd left an apple and some chocolate chip cookies, which I moved to the side to eat later.

I quickly ran over to my wardrobe and pulled out a random hoodie and sweatpants. "I'll be quick," I called over my shoulder to Marcus, locking the door to the bathroom.

Once I came back out dressed in clean clothes, I noticed he was sat on the edge of my bed, examining my iPod confusedly. I threw my dance clothes in the laundry basket and sat down beside him.

"How do these devices work?" he asked.

"Well, you need a speaker or headphones for it to work, but you turn it on like this," I pressed the on button, "and you can basically scroll through and choose anything," I explained.

"It really is fascinating how far human technology has come," he mused.

"I can imagine," I smiled, taking his hand, "_leggo_."

He stopped just as we got to the door of my room. "Don't you need shoes?"

"Eh, if I walked around without shoes before, I can do it now," I laughed.

When we got to the guard quarters, the setup was the same as last time, and everyone was sat in pretty much the same seats. I tried to look around to decide where to sit but it was confusing trying to navigate through a bunch of vampires zooming around in a blur.

"Eli!" Chelsea leapt up and threw her arms around me, much to Marcus' amusement, "Come sit."

I awkwardly sat down in the same seat as I had done before beside Chelsea. Marcus pulled a chair between me and Renata, his cold hand encasing mine endearingly.

"What movie options are there tonight?" I asked.

Santiago laughed. "Dude, you missed the voting, but Titanic won by a landslide."

_Titanic? Last time, that movie made me cry like a baby. In my defence, I was on pain medication when I watched it, so I was a little delirious._

"Leonardo DiCaprio is _to die for_," Renata groaned, slamming her hands on the table.

"Oh my word, yes, wow he's the fittest guy I've ever seen," Chelsea agreed.

Afton growled. "I'm right here, you know."

"Fine, he's the second fittest," Chelsea cuddled Afton. God, they were a cute couple.

"But come on," Renata added exaggeratedly, "every girl would die for him."

"I don't know about that, dude," Santiago shook his head.

"Are you a girl, Santiago? Or should I say…Tina?"

He seemed taken aback. "N-no but-"

"Then pipe it," she sneered, "Jane, do you think Leonardo DiCaprio is hot?"

"I would say he is a relatively attractive man, yes," Jane nodded.

"Chelsea?" Renata fixed her gaze on her.

"Second fittest man on the planet," she shrugged.

"Eli? Opinions on Leonardo DiCaprio?"

Now this put me in an awkward situation. Sure, Leonardo DiCaprio was hot, but I knew my mates got easily jealous as it is, without me adding to it with my many celebrity crushes. Marcus looked at me with a grin, clearly finding how stressed I was at this situation hilarious.

"I mean…he's hot, yeah," I spoke hesitantly.

"Oh, come _on_, that's it?" she was majorly unimpressed by my answer, "Even Jane gave a better response than that."

"Okay fine, Leonardo DiCaprio is _so_ fit, and his hair in this film is adorable. Happy?" I giggled.

"Not as adorable as my hair, I hope," Marcus murmured in my ear.

"Not even close," I responded.

Corin instantly darted over to where I was sat with a bag of M&Ms in hand. She thrusted them to me, simply said "Heidi", and sat back down again.

"Thanks," I called.

"What are they?" Marcus examined the bag in my hand.

I turned around to face the table. "M&Ms, they're so good, ugh," I moaned as I stuffed a handful in my mouth.

"Not this again," Santiago muttered.

"Don't be like that, Tina," Renata laughed at his distraught face, "last time was funny."

"What happened last time?" Marcus asked curiously.

"Well, basically Santiago took some M&Ms from me and threw one at Demetri's head, Demetri thought it was me and stormed over angrily, I explained it was Santiago, and Demetri crushed the rest of the M&Ms in Santiago's hair," I explained.

"Oh."

"I kept finding pieces in my dreads for days after," Santiago frowned.

"You asked for it, what were you thinking? Did you really think Demetri was going to let you off for that?" I laughed.

"Dude, you ratted me out."

"It was better you than me," I shrugged.

He growled angrily, shaking his fist, and I laughed at him, knowing he couldn't do anything to me, especially with Marcus in the room. "_Try me bitch_," I joked.

"You're so annoying, Eli."

"Likewise," I smiled tauntingly.

I glanced at Marcus, who seemed far from impressed at this exchange between us. He shot death glares at Santiago, which prompted us both to shut our mouths before anyone said anything they regretted. Right on cue, the movie began playing, causing the guard to let out a series of whoops and cheers. See, that's the fun thing about guard movie night; the guards are so forced to act mature that, behind closed doors, they're a bunch of children at heart.

About fifteen minutes in, Afton pulled Chelsea onto his lap, and Marcus did the same to me, surrounding my waist and pulling me backwards so I was sat facing forwards with his chin resting on my right shoulder. For such a cold person, quite literally, his embrace was the warmest thing I could ever experience, and I felt safe in his arms. From what I could see around the room, the only couples were me and Marcus, Afton and Chelsea, and another pair of guards who were cuddled together on a beanbag.

Things got pretty interesting once we got to the car scene. I'd always been shy around love scenes, and this one was no exception. I looked down at the ground, my cheeks becoming redder, to which Marcus chuckled and softly kissed my neck. The rest of the guard began whistling and calling out immaturely, making fun of the three couples in the room, including us.

Afton seemed unbothered, his smile only becoming smugger as Chelsea instinctively hid her face in his side. He looked over at me and raised his eyebrows up and down tauntingly, as if I wasn't being made fun of enough already.

"Marcus?" I whispered, "Can you please throw an M&M at Afton? Preferably his head, but whichever body part works, as long as it hurts."

He laughed quietly. "And why would I do that? He is innocently watching the film with Chelsea."

"So, that's a no?"

In response, he shook his head with a humoured expression. "It would not be a good image if anyone found out the Volturi have been crushing human food on their guard's heads."

"Fine, Santiago? Can you do the honours?" I leant over the table with the half full bag of chocolate in my hand.

He simply took a handful from the bag, materialised beside Afton, and crushed them on top of his head. A few chunks landed in Chelsea's hair as well, causing her to scowl at me. The guard all gasped at the scene of Afton covered in food before erupting in applause, including Marcus, while Santiago bowed proudly and sat back down in his seat.

"Eli, my hair!" he shook his head over the ground while pieces of chocolate flew in all directions.

"Your issue, not mine," I held my arms up with my palms facing outwards.

With the whole M&M attack on Afton, I hadn't even noticed that Renata had been swooning over the love scene, her crush on Leonardo DiCaprio getting the better of her.

"That level of admiration is…admirable," Marcus remarked while he glanced pointedly at Renata, who was almost drooling at this point in her little fantasy world.

"Hm, now you know how I feel about you then," I whispered, leaning back into him further as he tightened his hold on my waist.

"Get a room, stop canoodling in here," Afton whispered across the table.

"I could say the same to you, _sir Afton_," I countered.

"Ssh!" Alec hissed from the other side of the room. Now _that_ was disturbing. Was everyone listening to my conversation? My _private_ conversation?

"Canoodling?" Marcus asked.

"Like, kissing, cuddling, generally cringey couple stuff, etc." I responded.

"I would not say we are 'cringey'. Am I not allowed to show you how much I love you around others?" he murmured, kissing my neck while his hands moved to just under my breasts. I fought with myself to hold back from allowing a moan to escape me.

"Stop. Please," Santiago groaned, annoyed.

"Just for that comment,"

I spun around to face Marcus better and pressed my lips against his, while he pulled me so that I was sat straddled on his lap with his hands gripping my waist. I could feel everyone's eyes fixed on us but I didn't let it affect me, instead melting into him.

"I just want to watch Titanic!" Santiago complained.

Turning my head to face him, Marcus tucked my head under his chin and purred quietly. "May I remind you that we _are_ watching a romance film here?" I snarked at him.

"But I didn't ask for a live demonstration, dude!"

"Fine, fine, I'll stop," I reluctantly turned around so I was sat sideways on Marcus' lap.

The rest of the movie was relatively uneventful, except from the fact that almost every girl in the room plus Demetri had venom tears pooling in their eyes when Jack died. What was quite hilarious was Jane's snort when older Rose threw the necklace off the ship at the end of the film. Once the whole movie was over and I'd finished my M&Ms, everyone stood up from their seats and stretched unnecessarily. Marcus took my hand in his larger one.

"You seem tired, _tesoro_," he spoke, pulling me into his side.

"I'm fine, really," I insisted, "let's head back to my room."

He followed my lead back out of the guard quarters and down the corridor pretty much in silence. His arm snaked around my waist, and I couldn't help but stare at his perfect jaw line and chiselled cheekbones. Ugh, why was he so _perfect_? Without warning, his gaze snapped over to me, causing me to blush and hide my face with my hair. He didn't say anything to cause me further embarrassment, instead enveloping me in his arms tightly.

"Fancy seeing you here, _cara mia_," Aro strolled over joyously out of nowhere, his arms spread open.

"Brother, you could hear her heartbeat from metres away," Marcus remarked.

He ignored Marcus' statement. "How was the film? What did you watch?" he asked happily.

"Titanic," I replied.

"Such a sad film, a perfect example of the rarity of happy endings," he shook his head, "I was wondering if you would like to spend the remainder of this evening with me?" he asked eagerly.

"Sure, why not?" I answered, before turning back around to Marcus and kissing him softly, "goodnight Marcus."

"Do enjoy the rest of your evening, _tesoro_," Marcus smiled as Aro took my hand and led me back down the corridor.

**Author's note: I know, I know, I changed the cover again. But this time it was only so that it will match the cover to the **_**potential**_** sequel, yeet. Anyways, not much to say this time, thank you so much for reading, be sure to leave some feedback because your comments are the best honestly, stay safe, and ily!**


	35. Chapter 35

"I don't believe you have ever seen my quarters," Aro held my hand and led me down the dimly lit corridors.

"Can't say I have," I giggled as he placed his hand on the small of my back and guided me to the end of the corridor, up a staircase on the left, and into the room at the top.

"You seem to giggle a lot," he noted lightly.

"It's a thing, I can't help it," I blushed, "It also acts as a coping mechanism. When I found out my hamster died when I was twelve, I burst out laughing and fell onto the floor. Sorry if it annoys you a little-"

"Not at all, _bellissima_, your laugh is music to my ears," he smiled and held the door open for me, allowing me to enter first.

His quarters were a little bigger than Marcus' or Caius', with a grand piano in one corner and various other musical instruments dotted around. By the large window at the end of the room was his desk, which was a littered with letters and documents.

I seated myself on Aro's sofa with my legs curled up underneath me and he sat beside me, his fingers curling around mine. He opened his arms slightly and I leant into his embrace comfortably while he pulled me onto his lap.

"Question: why do you have beds?" I asked him.

He paused for a second. "Recreational purposes. Furniture is almost always broken due to our phenomenal strength, but beds are easiest to replace."

"Oh…you're _that_ strong?"

"It is the only reason why I am reluctant to…" he trailed off, "…with you. I have to use an incredible amount of self-control as it is to surround myself with you, _cara mia_. There is a very small difference in force between me stroking your hair and snapping your neck. I would never forgive myself if I hurt you in that way."

"You only have to wait, what, three more years?" I laughed.

He chuckled lightly, pressing a kiss to my nose. "If I managed to cope for three thousand years, I am certain I will make it through three more."

"Three thousand years," I repeated to myself in disbelief, "that's insane. So you're technically an elderly man. I'm in love with three elderly men."

"Do not think about my age in that manner, I will remain the same physical age eternally."

"Even if you were a frail old man, I'd love you in anyway," I ran my fingers through his soft black hair, "what would happen if I didn't become immortal? If I lived as a human for the rest of my life?"

He took an unnecessarily sharp breath. "We would continue to adore you for every second of your life but, once you'd hit the inevitable end of your life, we would end with you," he responded simply.

"Please don't talk like that," I hugged him tightly, nuzzling up against the crook of his neck, "the thought of you…it hurts me so much."

"It hurts me too," he shrugged, "but I thought it best if I answered your question regardless."

I softly kissed his cheek. "Another question, and this one's kinda random: how many people have you ever killed?"

He chuckled. "That is not a number I calculate, nor am I willing to. Most likely over one hundred thousand, but I do not keep track accurately."

"See, that's what makes you psychopathic. I know I already call Caius 'albino bunny', but maybe I should start calling you 'my little psychopath'-"

Before I knew it, I was tackled down on my back on the sofa, Aro hovering above me while pinning my arms down easily with his left hand. His hair completely surrounded us and a smirk played on his face. _Wow, his smirk is hot, damn. Wait, he can read my- oh._

"'Oh' indeed," he murmured huskily.

He crashed his lips against mine, my arms still held above my head. His tongue battled for dominance against mine while his right hand trailed down the length of my body, settling on my hip. He tasted incredible, and I was reluctant to pull away for air. Even then, his now blackened eyes continued to roam my body as my breathing gradually returned to normal.

"I will let you go if you promise me you will never use the name 'my little psychopath' again," he spoke.

"You know I can't make that promise, Aro," I giggled.

Within an instant, I was lying on top of him on the other end of the sofa, his arm wrapped tightly around my waist to stop me from going anywhere. He began trailing kisses down my neck when he stopped suddenly without explanation while his lips lingered over my skin.

I breathed a laugh. "What?"

"You are tired, _cara mia_, you should have said, don't let me keep you awake," he stroked the side of my face.

"I'm not tir-" the rest of my sentence was cut off by a perfectly-timed yawn.

"Do not lie to me, Eliana, I can see that you need to sleep," he chuckled under his breath.

"Stupid mind-reading," I muttered, curling up in his arms.

He shook his head lightly before instantly moving me over to his bed, still wrapped comfortingly in his arms. I cuddled up to him so that my head was tucked just under his chin and my legs were tangled with his. After a few minutes, he seemed to begin humming some kind of tune to himself under his breath, just loudly enough for me to hear.

"What are you humming, babe?" I mumbled.

He went quiet for a moment. "I do believe my mother used to hum this tune to me when I was a young child. It must just be ingrained into my head at this point," he mused.

"You remember that far back?"

"I have snippets of memories, but most immortals do not remember much at all from their human life. Interestingly, I truly did forget about that song until now."

"I should get vampires to hire me for my memory resurfacing services," I laughed.

"Maybe they should," he agreed with a chuckle, "over three thousand years and that song had never come up."

"Could it be a mating thing?" I wondered.

"It must be," he ran a hand through my hair, "Do you have any idea how long I have waited to find my true mate? To think that, without the Cullen boy's little crisis over his mate, Bella, I would have never met you. When I first laid my eyes on your petrified figure hidden behind Alice, I felt terrible. Terrible that you feared us, feared me. I wanted nothing more than to hold you in my arms and comfort you, to make you feel safe. Alice Cullen, what a gift she has, notified me a few weeks in advance of your existence, but it was only when I saw you that I realised just how much I had truly fallen for you instantly, _piccola_."

"What did happen in the throne room? I know I had that nightmare a few months ago," I shivered at the thought of it, "but I still haven't regained any memory from most of that day."

He sighed. "Demetri walked into the throne room accompanied by Edward, Bella, and Alice. I still hadn't taken your presence into account, not realising you were the mate of us Alice had mentioned in her letter. The beginning of your nightmare was accurate, you were hidden away shyly behind Alice like a little shadow. At first, I really was planning on disposing of both Bella and yourself, but it was once you were brought forward that the mating bond first appeared between the two of us. I felt the tug but, due to your humanity, it was quite painful for you and I saw that pain reflected on your face.

"I then introduced you to Marcus and Caius, which was when the second and third bonds appeared, causing you to cry out in pain. As you were human and three of the strongest bond had appeared at once, not helped by your state of mind at the time, most of your energy was drained from you. You collapsed just as I caught you before you reached the ground, which was when you lost consciousness. Bella, the thoughtful friend she is, defended you, pleading for me to step away and to leave you alone, but Marcus made us aware that you would recover best beside your true mates. Caius carried you up to the room we had prepared, and we stayed by your side until you woke up.

"We were terribly worried at first, you were alive and your heart was beating but you did not seem to move a muscle. I made a phone call to Carlisle, and he advised us to call him again if you did not wake within 24 hours. I held my hand in yours to see if you were doing fine, but I saw nothing new in your thoughts. You eventually stirred after 16 hours to our relief, and I do believe you remember that point onwards."

His explanation seemed to open a flood gate of memories, and suddenly it felt like everything from that day made sense somehow.

"I remember now. I was hidden behind Alice because she told me not to draw attention to myself and to stick with her. I stood by her side at first, but, no offence, you red-eyed vampires scared the shi- I mean hell out of me. So instead I hid my face behind her in the faint hopes that I wouldn't have the blood sucked out of me like some kind of afternoon beverage."

"I did hear once that the blood of a true mate is supposed to be almost as delicious as that of a blood singer," he mused.

"Don't. Even. Think about it."

"Of course not. Unless, of course, you did start bleeding, and then I would only taste a small drop simply out of curiosity," he shrugged, "but your blood does smell delicious, _bellissima_, even to other vampires. You appear to have the perfect sweetness in yours, which was made apparent when Octavius," he practically hissed his name, "came for you the other day."

"I don't know if I should be flattered or terrified," I giggled awkwardly.

"You should be flattered," he breathed a chuckle, "As a general trend, the sweeter the blood, the stronger the vampire. Speaking of which, I have a close friend in the Denali coven, have you heard of Eleazar?"

I shook my head.

"He has the ability to detect the gifts in other humans and vampires. He will be visiting briefly with his coven in the coming weeks to see if you will be gifted. I will reiterate the fact that gifts within vampires are very rare, so do not be discouraged if there is nothing. If anything, Caius will have someone to relate to," he humoured.

"So, he has the gift to see other gifts?"

"He was previously a member of the Volturi and worked alongside me to build up the coven and accumulate gifted vampires. So far, there have never been any gaps in his capabilities, so his verdict is 100% certain. You have not shown any signs of a gift, but neither did Bella Swan, and her shield is incredibly strong."

"When did you discover you had a gift?" I asked him.

"It was the day I was transformed. I was able to see the memories of the humans I fed on, which, as you can imagine, startled me just a little," he explained.

"Hold up, you've seen everything I've ever seen…" I trailed off.

_Not something I exactly want to ask out loud because I'm awkward, but you've already seen me…nude?_

"I did not want to scare you off, but I would be lying if I said no," he said, which caused me to immediately tense up, "Eliana, I know you feel conscious about your body, but you have nothing to feel ashamed about. You are honestly the most perfect, beautiful _person_ I've ever come across. I love everything about you, everything."

I cuddled myself closer to him. "Says you," I scoffed, "you're like a God compared to me. I mean, I didn't think guys could get this hot, but I stand corrected."

He shook his head lightly and pressed a soft kiss to my forehead. "Sleep now, _il mio amore_."

* * *

I yawned and gently opened my eyes, noticing that Aro was still lying beside me with his arms wrapped around my waist tightly. I cringed at the morning breath taste in my mouth which earned a chuckle.

"Good morning, _cara mia_," he spoke quietly.

I groaned and rolled over on to my front. "I really need to stop waking up in everyone else's beds at this point."

"No, just mine," he smirked, flipping me onto my back within an instant.

"Touché."

He began to close the distance between us just before the door to his quarters flung open. Without warning, Caius came and settled down beside me on the bed, while Marcus messily draped himself on top of me with his head over my stomach. I yelped in surprise for a moment before playfully whacking Caius on the chest.

"Don't scare me like that, geez, could've given me a heart attack."

Aro seemed far from impressed by their unannounced visit. "Can I not have my little mate alone for one morning?"

"You had her last night, brother," Caius argued.

"Well you had her the night before," he glanced pointedly at Marcus, "and you had her the night before that," he glared at Caius.

"I have a name, you know," I reminded them.

"Why should I use it when you had the audacity to call me 'albino bunny'?" Caius raised an eyebrow.

"That was one time!" I exclaimed.

"Three times, actually," he corrected.

"And just last night, you referred to me as 'my little psychopath'," Aro continued.

"Woah-woah-woah, didn't you get annoyed at Caius for getting triggered by his nickname? Don't be a hypocrite," I faced my palms outwards.

"Do I get a nickname then?" Marcus asked.

"Do you want a nickname, babe?"

"It's not worth it," Caius warned.

"You will regret this," Aro added.

"I asked Marcus, _actually_," I snarked, "fine, I'll call you…didn't I call you a cinnamon roll the other day? There you go, 'cinnamon roll'."

Marcus smiled contentedly. "That works."

"How come his name is so much less derogatory than ours?" Caius complained.

"Got any better ideas then, babe?" I asked.

"How about using only our real names?"

"But that's so boring, this is way more fun. Plus, it annoys you, so it's _what we in sales call a win-win scenario_," I gestured before laughing.

Caius groaned. "Stop quoting that blasted movie."

"Make me," I challenged.

He was instantly leant over me as his lips crashed against mine while his hands cupped my breasts. It probably would've escalated much further if Aro and Marcus weren't in the room as well.

"Caius, it is a little unfair of you to monopolize _our_ mate, don't you agree?" Aro interrupted.

"Hah," I giggled.

Caius looked far from amused, struggling to keep his hands to himself. "You really have no idea how irresistible you are _carissima_."

"That's it, I'm organising a group trip to the opticians. I think they do a '3 for 2' deal on men's glasses."

Aro erupted with laughter. "_Cara_, we have vampire eyesight, remember?"

"Does it deteriorate with age or something?"

"Do you trust us?"

"…what?" I asked, confusedly.

"Do you trust us, Eliana?" he asked again.

"Of course I do," I responded.

"How much do you trust us?"

I hadn't really put much thought to it. I loved them to bits, and to be fair I would do pretty much anything for them.

"I'd trust you with my life if it came to it," I answered.

"So do you trust us when we tell you that you are the most beautiful creature on the planet?" he raised an eyebrow.

"I guess I now have no choice but to," I frowned a little as he placed a chaste kiss on my lips, cupping my cheek with his right hand.

"Because it's the truth, _tesoro_," Marcus chimed in.

"Don't you think maybe your opinion is a little biased here?"

"Maybe," Caius began, "but it doesn't take away from the truth."

**Author's note: This chapter was so sweet to write aww. I've been in a really weird headspace recently, and I don't really know how to describe it, but anyway if my quality of writing hasn't been at the top of my game, that's why. Anyways, thank you so much for reading, be sure to leave some feedback because I love reading your comments, stay safe, and ily!**


	36. Chapter 36

"If you even dare hug me, I. Will. End. You."

Jane, Felix, Demetri, and Alec were about to leave for Seattle. They all had their hoods up just in case anyone saw them, but fortunately the weather was overcast and they would be running there in anyway. I had briefly hugged Felix and Demetri considering they were going to be gone for a month, if not longer, but the twins were obviously reluctant. Alec stood back amusedly with his arms crossed while Jane snarled at me before I had the chance to embrace her.

I stepped back with my arms up in surrender. "Chill your beans, Jane-y-Pain-y, look, not hugging you."

"Keep it that way, Little-Miss-Human," she growled. Eh, she loved me really.

With that, they dashed off down the underground tunnel system, only visible for a split-second as four dark-coloured blurs.

"Tell Bella I said hi!" I shouted before following Heidi and Corin back into the annoying-elevator-that-plays-opera-music.

"What are you doing for the rest of the day then?" Corin asked me.

"Well, my mates are in meetings all day, but it is sunny outside… I could try to get a tan?" my sentence came out as a question.

"Ooh yes, just imagine this body shape but sun-kissed as well, stunning," Heidi mused.

As soon as the elevator stopped at my floor and we heard the all too familiar ding, Heidi took my hand and all but dragged me back into my room. Corin bounced behind me excitedly like a drunk Tigger, singing a song to herself in some other language. Once we got in, Heidi closed the door behind us and, as usual, helped herself into my wardrobe.

"Can I help you?" I waved to try and get her attention.

She pulled out a deep red low-cut two-piece bikini, with a little less fabric than I was comfortable with. "I can just imagine how nice your tan lines will look in this shape, I just wish I could tan."

"Can you not tan?"

"No, it's a vampire thing, you get used to it. Anyway," she clapped her hands and handed me the swimsuit, "put this on in the bathroom and also make sure you use sun-cream and tan optimiser," she passed me both bottles.

Items in hand, I locked the door to the bathroom and began dressing out of the same hoodie and sweatpants I'd worn the night before. For someone who couldn't tan, Heidi knew an awful lot about tanning somehow. The swimsuit was very low-cut, and the top half only just covered the important bits, but either way no one was going to see. Usually the gardens were relatively empty, the only visitors being the human gardeners hired by the Volturi, the kings themselves, and guards when they felt like it, which wasn't that often to be honest.

After quickly piling on the sun-cream and tan-optimiser, I grabbed my sunglasses and placed them on top of my head before re-emerging into my room.

"Perfect, perfect, perfect, you look gorgeous as always," Heidi grinned proudly which made me blush.

Corin handed me a pair of shorts and a towel. "Put these on and let's go," she squealed.

"You know I'll probably just burn, right?" I told them while slipping on the shorts over my swimsuit and picking up the towel.

"It's worth a shot. If you get too badly burnt, there is a doctor in the medical wing that can treat both vampires and humans, so you're good," Heidi shrugged and took my hand, leading me out of the room and down the corridor.

"Okay, but please warn me as soon as my skin looks a little redder than usual. If I ignore it, my skin tends to peel and it's disgusting," I inwardly cringed.

Corin skipped along beside us. "Oh please," she waved her hand, "how bad can it be?"

"I hope you don't ever find out," I laughed as we got out into the sunlight.

We walked around the gardens for a few moments before settling down in the middle of the lawn. I had the towel spread across the grass and laid down strategically on my stomach with my shorts folded in a neat pile to the side. Meanwhile, Heidi and Corin were sat either side of me, enjoying the warmth the sun provided them as they glistened like walking disco balls.

It was only after fifteen or so minutes that Afton showed up out of nowhere, looking beyond confused at the sight of me randomly lying on the ground and soaking up the sun in a skimpy bikini.

I peered over the rim of my sunglasses at him. "Can I help you, _sir Afton_?"

"I was bored, just wanted to see what you were doing, _queen Eliana_," he shrugged, "what are you doing?"

"Eli is going to get a tan!" Heidi exclaimed.

"Or burn," I added, "either-or."

He sat down on the ground in front of me with his legs crossed. "Burn? I don't know how your mates will react to that."

"Chill, it's an added risk that comes with being pale like me," I gestured to my skin which was almost as pale as theirs, which spoke volume.

Afton held his speaker up. "Mind if I play some music?"

"Hells yeah, get that Kelly Clarkson going," I encouraged, my tone dripping with sarcasm.

"You can't help it, can you?" he sighed.

"I really can't, I will never, and I mean NEVER, let your obsession go," I warned him.

We spent the next hour or so singing along to a bunch of Kelly Clarkson songs, most of which Afton was the only one who knew the lyrics to. I'd flipped over onto my back half way through and taken off my sunglasses so that my tan would be more even. During our terrible karaoke of "Stronger", another guard came storming out angrily. I sat up straight, almost as confused as Afton.

This guard had sleek, dark brown hair which he had gelled perfectly into shape. His jaw and cheekbones were much defined, and his eyebrows were…scarily straight and completely perfectly shaped. The only thing that didn't suit him was his scowl, which was mostly aimed at me.

"Hello?" I winced at the sunlight which was blinding me.

"Master Caius has requested the music be switched off," he snapped in a broad accent, but I couldn't tell what it was.

"Sorry, who are you?" I tried to seem friendly but probably only came across as a bitch.

He growled. "I am Rafael, milady, and Master Caius has requested you end this music," he snapped. _Wow, his temper is worse than Caius'._

"Geez, calm down, fine, but can't you just tell blondie to-"

"It is interrupting a very important meeting with the Ukrainian coven," the irony in him interrupting my sentence, "and he dislikes this music very much."

"Can we please at least just finish his song?" I asked him hopefully, "I'll make sure Caius doesn't blame you."

Instead of responding, he picked up the speaker from the grass and held it above his head, ignoring Afton's protests. Afton leapt to his feet and tried to retrieve it but Rafael not only was taller than him, but was also somehow faster.

"Master Caius instructed me to destroy this device if you refused to turn off the music, so," he crushed the speaker in his fist similarly to how Caius had destroyed mine, "have a nice day," he smiled and left within an instant.

The four of us stilled in complete silence, which Afton was the first to break after a few seconds. "…the fuck was that?"

"And I thought Jane was an asshole," I mused, "who the hell was that then?"

"Rafael? Yeah, he's always been a dick, ugh he has such a perfectly slappable face, and also he's such a kiss-ass to the Masters. Although, considering that, the fact that he just disobeyed your orders as the future queen was a little…weird."

"I would've gladly saved his tiny ass if he would've just let us finish the song," I shrugged, rolling back over onto my front, "have I gone red yet?"

"You're good," Heidi replied, "you're already tanning a little."

"Really? How can you tell?"

"Our eyesight, it's not too difficult to spot."

"Huh," I nodded, "anyway, what does that Rafael dude do then?"

"You're turning into Santiago," Corin laughed.

I giggled. "He didn't invent the word 'dude', dude."

"Rafael is a tracker, similar to Demetri but not nearly as powerful. He's one of the lower guards, and he got a little jealous when Demetri became the Volturi's sole tracker. Now he just lets out his jealousy by sucking up to the Masters in the faint hope that they'll promote him," Afton explained.

"Will they promote him?" I asked.

"After that? Chances are Master Aro won't even consider it since he acted like such an asshat to you. I mean, what was he thinking? Now he won't get his promotion and I won't get my speaker back."

"Do you want me to get Caius to punish him for you?" I offered with a laugh.

"Not worth the hassle. I guess I'll just have to order a new speaker for myself online, I'll get a spare one for you while I'm at it in case yours…"

"…gets destroyed by blondie again?" I finished. "Yeah, that would be great, I'll pay you back later."

"You know," Corin grinned mischievously, pulling a small speaker out from her pocket, "I still have my speaker here."

"I wonder if Caius' problem was with the volume or the song. I guess we'll find out," I giggled, taking the speaker from her and starting up a playlist of loud rap songs with explicit lyrics which I knew would piss him off.

* * *

I came back inside my room alone that evening after having spent the entire day outside with Afton, Corin, and Heidi. Considering I really hadn't achieved much or done anything all day, I was absolutely exhausted. Stepping into the bathroom with an oversized t-shirt and underwear in hand, I pulled the edge of my bikini top back and looked in the mirror.

I'd actually caught a tan, I had genuine tan lines. Sure, they weren't that obvious, but they were definitely there. The skin on my shoulders was maybe just a little pink, but usually I burnt way more. I began taking off my bikini top to put it back in my laundry basket.

"What are you doing, _carissima_?"

I yelped and placed a hand over my fast-beating heart, turning around to face Caius who was leant casually against the doorframe to my bathroom.

"How long have you been standing there for?" I drew my eyebrows together.

"I should have waited until you took your swimsuit off, I know," he smirked, strolling over to me.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Look at my tan lines though!" I yelled enthusiastically, pulling my top back so it just covered my nipple.

"Can you pull it back further?" he asked cheekily.

"Oi, watch it," I playfully slapped him on the chest before pulling him in to a brief hug, "how was your meeting with the Ukrainian coven then?"

"Uneventful," he sighed as I turned around to quickly change out of my swimsuit, "we were simply discussing our current alliance with them. The coven has control over most of our world in Eastern Europe and has helped us in the past during our war against the Egyptian coven."

"Geez, how many covens are there?"

"We have alliances with many, our closest currently being with the Ukrainian coven, but also with other powerful covens across Europe and Asia," he shrugged, "I actually came here to bring you this."

He placed his hand in the inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out a brand new speaker, identical to the one I had before. I turned around and squealed when he handed it to me before placing it down on the bathroom counter and throwing my arms around his neck.

"Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!" I breathed.

He chuckled lightly, placing one hand underneath me and the other on my back so that I was hoisted up against him with my legs wrapped around his torso. "Anything for you."

A yawn annoyingly escaped my lips and I placed my left hand over to cover my mouth. "Sorry, just tired."

"Do not apologise, it is not your fault that your species require sleep," he spoke, pressing his lips gently against mine.

"Aren't I, you know, heavy for you? I mean, I have the weight of a cow-"

"Eliana, not only are you the perfect size and weight, but I am also much stronger than you."

"I'm not too heavy to lift?"

"To me, it is like you have the weight of a piece of paper. While I worry about being delicate due to your fragility, your weight will never be an issue," he assured.

"So, could I lift you up? Just out of curiosity?"

He placed me back down onto the cold bathroom floor on my feet and held his arms open. "You can try."

Hesitantly, I bent down slightly at my knees and encircled my arms around his waist. I attempted to straighten my legs and pull him up off the ground, but he quite literally didn't move an inch, as if he was a genuine marble statue. He seemed to find humour in my futile attempt as I stood up again and regained my breath.

"God, you're heavy," I wheezed.

With a chuckle, he swept me off my feet and placed me back down on my bed in an instant. "That is the idea, _carissima_."

He began for the door, planning on leaving me to sleep before I stopped him. "Caius?"

"Yes?" he stopped in his tracks and turned his head.

"Can you stay with me?"

In a blur of movement, he appeared beside me on my bed. "Always," he murmured, comfortingly wrapping his arms around my waist and holding me to him delicately while he purred lightly in my ear.

**Author's note: I almost didn't get this chapter done today because I woke up really late haha. I think I mentioned this to someone yesterday, but I might as well announce that there will be 50 chapters in total for this story, so there's really not long left :((  
Anyways, thank you so much for reading, be sure to leave some feedback, stay safe, and ily!**


	37. Chapter 37

I woke up to find a distinct lack of cold vampire in my bed. Wearily, I rolled myself over, realising that Caius must've left while I was still asleep. In fairness, I really didn't blame him; it was already almost midday. Although blondie may have left, Afton was settled back in one of the grey beanbags by my TV, flicking boredly through some book he must've found in the library. I tried to roll over and pretend I was asleep in the faint hope that I wouldn't have to start a friendly conversation this early.

"Don't bother, I know you're awake," Afton droned without even bothering to look up at me.

I groaned and buried my head in a pillow. "How?"

"Your heartbeat has increased slightly. Barely, but it's noticeable enough for me to know you're no longer asleep," he explained.

I rolled myself messily out of bed so that I landed on the floor in front of him, slumped against the side of the mattress. My eyelids were still heavy and even the thought of trying to stand up made me want to crawl back into bed.

I eyed the book he was reading curiously. "What are you reading, _dork_?"

"If anyone's a dork, it's you," he sniggered, "it's a book on anthropology."

I stared at him blankly for a moment before he explained. "Humans."

"Oh," I nodded, "should've just said so."

Lazily, I stood up from the floor and stumbled dramatically over to my vanity. It was only when I looked in the mirror that I realised the dishevelled state my hair was in. Not only was it knotted and standing up in all directions, but I clearly hadn't paid enough attention to my roots as my natural brunette hair had already grown through by about an inch. I groaned, banging my forehead against the tabletop.

"What?" Afton asked.

"Look at this," I spun around and wildly gestured to my hair.

"Just brush it," he shrugged and continued his book.

"Yeah, because brushing it is going to fix my hair colour," I narrowed my eyes while my tone was teeming with sarcasm.

He sighed exasperatedly. "What do you want from me? Bleach it then."

Heidi instantly appeared at my bedroom door with an excited grin on her face. _Here we go_. "Are we bleaching your hair then? Ooh, _herrlich_."

I stared at her blankly. "Ye' what?"

"It is German for gorgeous," she explained, "Anyway, I think there is some hair bleach somewhere around here. Vampires actually can't colour their hair because it's too tough, but I think there might be some in the medical wing if I remember correctly."

"Why would there be hair bleach in the medical wing?" I raised an eyebrow.

"It's where we keep all cosmetic items. Be right back," she called before dashing away in a blur. The fact that she was able to run that fast in stilettos was kind of disturbing to be honest.

While she was gone, I took the opportunity to quickly change into a pair of denim shorts and the same trashy t-shirt I'd worn the night before just in case anything got messy. Once I was dressed, I brushed my teeth and made sure to flick a few drops of toothpaste at Afton while he wasn't looking.

"Do you mind?!" he rubbed at the white toothpaste marks I left.

"Not even sorry. But, Afton?" I turned my head to face him.

"Yeah?"

"Please tell me Heidi actually knows anything about bleaching hair," I drew my eyebrows together.

"Oh yeah, apparently she took a hairdressing course before, and she's done some of the human staff's hair before," he nodded.

"_Phew_, I thought for a second it was going to turn out a mess."

Heidi's voice chimed in again as she placed a box containing a hair bleaching kit and a bottle of silver toner on my desk. "Give me some credit, I do happen to know what I'm doing. Theo said to dye it in the kitchen so the fumes stay away from your quarters."

"Who's Theo?"

"Oh, Doctor Theodore is the resident medical expert around here. Also, he says he still needs to do a medical examination of you at some point. It's not urgent at all, but go down whenever you have time."

"Wait why do I need to go for an examination? I'm great, never been better," I asked as Heidi took my hand and began leading me down to the kitchen.

"It's mandatory for every human around here, you included. Besides, if something was to come up and you became injured, it would help if your records were correct," she responded.

"Where are my mates by the way?"

She led us down another corridor. "They're currently discussing something with the Ukrainians before the coven leaves. They should be done by this evening, so they can see your _hair_!" she emphasised the last word excitedly.

A man suddenly materialised in front of us out of nowhere, making me yelp out in shock. He had slightly longer blonde hair, just a little shorter than Caius', which was shaved on one side, and he his eyes were already fading to black after glancing at me.

"_Heidi, vy ne proty yakshcho ya yimo tsyu lyudnynu zaraz_?"

I may not have known a single word of…it sounded Ukrainian, but I knew it couldn't possibly be good due to the fact that Heidi's grip on my arm became a little tighter. He looked like he was about to pounce at me as he licked his lips before she interrupted.

"_Tse maybutnya koroleva Volturi, Eliana_," she gestured to me while my eyes were wide with fright.

"My apologies, my apologies," he clapped his hands and smiled humbly as his irises began returning to their crimson hue, "how very rude of me. My name is Andrey, I am with the Ukrainian coven. I have heard so much about you and your incredible mating bond with the leaders, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance," he extended his hand which I shook while still trembling a little.

"It's nice to meet you," I smiled sheepishly and stared at the ground.

"Again, I do apologise. If I would have known who you were, I would never dare to-"

"Its fine, its fine, honestly, it was just an honest mistake," I assured, "no harm done."

He smiled with a toothy grin. "I must get back to my coven. It was a pleasure to meet you, Eliana, and I hope to see you again soon. And Heidi, do take care," he called in his thick Ukrainian accent before disappearing in a blur of movement.

"Thanks for saving me there, I really didn't want to be found dead with this hair," I joked while we continued our walk to the kitchen.

"That would've been tragic," she teased, dragging me through the metal double-doors into the kitchen.

The room was empty so it gave us plenty of space to work with. She pulled out a stool from underneath the island in the middle of the kitchen and gestured for me to sit down.

Overall, it didn't take long at all for her to do my hair. Theo was right to recommend we do it in the kitchen as the fumes were horrible, sticking to my skin and clothes. While I sat there for half an hour or so to let the colour process, Heidi explained to me her ability of physical attraction. At first, I thought she was joking, but it turned out that she was the Volturi's 'fisher' due to the fact that she could easily lure in their human meals, basically just by looking hot.

Once it was finished, she quickly picked me up horizontally like Corin often did and dashed us back up to my bathroom so that I was leant over the edge of the bathtub.

"Um, what are you doing?" I asked.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm washing the bleach out of your hair," she responded, easily jumping up to grab the shower head to turn on the hot water.

"Should I maybe wash it myself?"

"I'm the hairdresser here, Eli. Besides, it will be a lot faster if I get it done for you, and then we can tone it quickly."

She was right though, it was a lot faster for her to rinse my hair than I would've been. After about half an hour of toning, washing, and drying my now almost white blonde hair, I stepped out of the bathroom and into my bedroom dramatically, now wearing a light pink cropped t-shirt and a pair of blue denim mom jeans.

Chelsea was stood beside Afton, jumping up and down while clapping her hands. "Heidi, you did amazing wow!" she marvelled my hair, "don't you think, Afton?"

Afton looked up from his book of anthropology and tried to hide his look of surprise and replace it with a bored expression. "Looks way better than before," he shrugged.

"Doesn't it just? Oh my god, you look like a supermodel," Chelsea continued.

Heidi smiled smugly from behind me, quickly running her hand through my hair. "Now that my work here is done, I must discuss the next tour with the receptionist."

"Hate that bitch," I muttered quietly. That receptionist took every opportunity to make passive-aggressive remarks about my relationships or look me up and down like a piece of filth, despite the fact that, not to toot my own horn but, I was usually dressed way better than her.

"We all do, but we will be replacing her after the next 'fish' in two or so days time," she responded and dashed out of the door faster than I could comprehend.

"Replacing her, huh?" I couldn't help but grin.

"Considering how much of a bitch-"

Afton's sentence was cut off by Chelsea slapping him on the leg painfully. "Watch your language, boy."

"Fine, considering how horrible she was to you, one of the Masters will probably finish her off. I think it might be Aro this time, as Caius got the last receptionist. I am surprised you're actually okay with our diet considering how close you are with the Cullens."

"Put it by this way. Wild animal populations are already dwindling, and many poor species are nearing extinction. Meanwhile, humans are not only over-populated, but also can be absolutely vile creatures at times, and this is me speaking as a human myself," I explained.

"So, when you are eventually transformed, you're not going to be a vegetarian?" Chelsea asked, cringing at the thought.

"I am currently a vegan because I want to protect the animals that have just as much right to this planet as humans do. I would prefer to consume a few humans than cause a wild animal's extinction simply due to the fact that I didn't want to be seen as a murderer."

"Hah, we have the same viewpoint then," Chelsea high-fived me, "I love animals so much, I've always dreamed of having a pet."

"I have a pet cat, actually," I laughed.

"Seriously? Aw, that's adorable, what is it like?"

"His name is Fernando, and he likes to meow and interrupt people's conversations a lot. The kings hate him because I baby him so much, and he often sleeps on my bed with me when I'm at home," I told her, "I'll have to leave him behind soon when I move here permanently."

"Aren't you leaving for the UK in roughly a week?" she asked.

"Yeah, Afton's being dragged along with me, I've got to pack up the last of my things and gather up documents like my birth certificate and stuff like that. It'll be the last time I see my parents…" I trailed off. I'd been planning on moving out soon in anyway, but the fact that I would never be allowed to see them again did upset me a little.

"I'm sorry, El," Chelsea sympathised.

"I'm not actually crazily upset about it, I'll just miss them a lot. I kinda saw it coming, though. Either way, I was planning to move out of the country over to Forks permanently to be nearer the Cullens, so the move away from home was inevitable," I shrugged, "but instead I get to live in sunny Italy with the loves of my life, so _no problem-o_."

"You'll love it here. And you can live with us forever and ever," Chelsea clapped excitedly.

"Don't scare her off already," Afton teased her.

"Eh, I already see you as my annoying siblings so I'll get used to it."

Chelsea instantly pulled me into a tight hug and leant backwards so we both fell onto my bed, her lying on top of me in a fit of giggles. "You are like the best sister I could ever ask for, I'm so excited for you to move in with us-"

"WHAT IS HAPPENING IN HERE?"

Caius stormed in and yanked Chelsea off of me, flinging her into Afton's lap as she let out a startled yelp. I sat up on the edge of my bed and leapt in before Caius had any other ideas.

"Calm down, we were just hugging-"

"Chelsea?! On your bed?!" he yelled.

"We're best friends, Chelsea is like a sister to me. Don't worry about it," I wrapped my arms around his torso, feeling how tense all of his muscles were.

"Out. Now." He hissed at Chelsea and Afton, prompting them both to disappear, "Who do you think you-"

"Brother, Eliana has said they are simply friends, even if that conduct was…unnecessary," Aro stepped over from the doorway.

"Conduct? We were hugging, that's what friends do," I defended.

Marcus walked forward beside Aro. "It is true, they have a very admirably close friendship with each other."

"Thank you," I huffed, gesturing to Marcus.

"Are you truly saying you would repeat this behaviour with any of your Cullen friends?" Caius was still angry.

"Uh, yeah. Alice hugs me at every given opportunity, and Bella fell asleep sprawled on top of me the morning you three came to collect me a week or two ago. I literally had to pry myself out from underneath her so I wouldn't wake her up."

"That human Cullen has crossed too many lines-"

"No she hasn't, because we're best friends. This kind of stuff happens all the time. We even share clothes and walk around arm-in-arm, for goodness sake. When we were little, we used to carry each other around on our backs like the absolutely weird children we were. Caius, please trust that I won't act inappropriately and I have a handle on my behaviour," I briefly hugged him.

"Young people these days," he tutted to himself.

"I'm sorry we don't sit politely in frilly gowns and have tea and crumpets all day long. It might seem weird to you, but I view Bella, and Alice, and Chelsea, as sisters to me, so it's not an issue."

"It is not weird at all, _tesoro_," Marcus moved to sit down beside me, entwining his fingers around mine, "you are lucky that you have people who care about you that much."

"Your friendship with Bella Swan when you were children was adorable, especially all the games you would play together when you were much younger," Aro smiled, sitting down on the other side of me and pulling me over by my hips onto his lap.

"Wait how did- oh yeah," I reminded myself of his ability.

"If only you could see, brothers. They would chase each other around their garden and pretend to be fairies," he teased.

I blushed. "Give me a break, I was only six."

"I would have loved to meet you when you were that small. Such a sweet, polite, shy little girl, yet your imagination was brilliant. I do believe you went through a phase of being obsessed with Dora the Explorer."

I hid my face in Aro's shoulder which earned a chuckle from him. "What would have happened if you would've met me when I was still tiny?"

"Good question," Marcus turned himself slightly to face me better and began to explain, "The bonds would appear as before, and it would probably have been a little painful for you due to the fact that there are three of us. We would feel an overwhelming need to protect you, to raise you ourselves. It would more than likely be similar to our relationship now, minus the romance. Then, once you would become the age you are currently, the bond would gradually become more romantic."

"That's a really weird thought, you three raising little me," I scrunched up my nose.

"Do you not have any faith in our parenting capabilities?" Caius asked.

"Do you have any?" I countered.

Aro chuckled. "If we were parenting you, of course we would, _cara mia_. Marcus could teach you to read and write, Caius could scold you for bad behaviour, and I could make sure you didn't become a spoilt brat of a child."

"I would be scared for any child if they had you as parents," I laughed.

"Did you ever…want a family?" he asked.

"I've never been very family-orientated, so kids were never a priority for me. Of course, if I was to have a child, I would raise it and love it with all the love I could give, but I wouldn't have a child intentionally," I shrugged, "children don't like me."

"Children are overrated," Caius agreed, sitting to the other side of Aro.

Aro froze and spun me around so that I was straddling his lap. He ran his fingers through my hair gently. "Your hair looks different."

"Took you long enough to notice. Now I look _identical_ to Caius," I grinned.

"I cannot say I am pleased with the bleach smell left lingering in your hair, though," Caius frowned.

"Neither," Marcus added.

"Not as delectable as your natural scent, _il mio amore_," Aro concurred, "I do not understand why you would put in the effort to colour your hair when you look beautiful either way. Besides, once you are transformed, your natural hair colour will come back through in anyway."

"What is your natural hair colour, _bellissima_," Marcus asked.

"Brunette, almost identical in colour to yours," I responded to him.

Aro tightened his arms around my waist. "I actually came here to invite you to my quarters this evening, if you would do me the honour, _cara mia_."

"As if I would turn down an invitation like that," I giggled, pressing a kiss to his lips.

"Do not make me have to listen to you two all night long," Caius mumbled into his palm.

"For that, brother, I will ensure Eliana screams my name for hours," Aro retorted, which made me completely freeze up on his lap, "if we do anything tonight," he added, easing my nerves ever so slightly.

"I think our brother is trying to say have fun, but quiet fun," Marcus spoke as we stood up and Aro lead me out of the room by my hand.

"I can't promise anything," I giggled.

**Author's note: I wasn't entirely sure what happens to coloured hair after someone is transformed into a vampire, but I assumed that, since bleach strips layers of hair and the venom repairs everything, her hair turning back to natural colour would make sense. This chapter haha, her friendship with Chelsea is so much fun.  
Translations (Any errors are due to Google Translate, not me, but feel free to correct me in anyway):  
Heidi, v****y ne proty yakshcho ya yimo tsyu lyudnynu zaraz****? - Heidi, do you mind if I eat this human now?  
Tse maybutnya koroleva Volturi, Eliana - This is the future queen of the Volturi, Eliana  
Anyways, thank you so much for reading, be sure to leave some feedback, I'm so happy to hear so many of you are enjoying reading my story, stay safe, and ily lots!**


	38. Chapter 38

**Warning: This chapter is rated MA 18+ and contains sexual activity between two consenting adults. If you're not comfortable with this, feel free to skip to the next chapter, but hey, you do you.**

"I do apologise for my lack of films," Aro spoke while he sat on the floor in his quarters beside me, looking through his movie collection.

"This is a lack of films?" I raised my eyebrows, gesturing to the pile of DVD's I'd already rejected.

He chuckled under his breath before holding up a DVD I dreaded. "What about Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?"

"Come on, you know that film freaks me out," I cringed.

"Maybe I might have a good horror film we can watch. I know that Child's Play terrified you, and I do believe I have the sequels here somewhere," he smirked.

"Sequel-_s_?"

"There were seven films, and I have seen them all. I really do not understand this little fear of yours, Eliana. Why does it frighten you so much?" he asked.

"I don't like horror films, and I really don't like jump scares, please don't make me watch it," I whined childishly.

"I will not put you through the stress of that film saga unnecessarily, _cara mia_. Instead, how about we watch The Woman in Black?" he laughed.

"Emmett made me and Bella watch that with him, and I screamed so much that I lost my voice."

"I am aware," he chuckled, "but even the sound of your scream is music to my ears."

"That's a little weird," I giggled, resting my head on his shoulder as he continued sorting through a few more movies.

Eventually we settled on watching The Notebook, as there was absolutely no way I was agreeing to any of the horror movies he was willing to put me through. Not that a cringey romance was much better, but at least I wouldn't be screaming every five minutes, instead simply dying of cringe. I curled into his arms with my back pressed against his front, his hands delicately caressing my hips.

Once the movie was finally over and the credits began rolling, Aro quickly leant over and switched off the TV, filling the room with silence.

"What did you think of that film then?" he asked, well knowing I hated it.

"I don't remember ever watching anything worse," I giggled.

"Well, I quite enjoyed it, and watching you cringe during every scene was brilliant," he teased.

"Psychopath," I muttered.

Before I knew it, he'd lifted me up and placed me down on his bed, rolling us over each other until we almost fell off the other end, with him hovering over me. I giggled as his lips crashed roughly against mine while his hands began to work their way under my top. We broke the kiss momentarily so that he could pull my top over my head before his lips met mine again passionately. His irises had somehow already gone completely pitch black. For some reason, I'd made the decision to not put on a bra underneath my clothes, but Aro definitely wasn't complaining.

"_Sei magnifico_," he murmured as he began to kiss and suck my nipples, causing me to moan out his name. Meanwhile, he instantly tore off my jeans and underwear in one swift move, and I gasped in surprise. I seriously didn't know they could do that. A little disappointing though considering I'd only just taken the tag off those jeans and now they were simply shreds of fabric.

His right hand slid down my stomach and gently stroked my entrance which caused me to buck my hips in anticipation. He annoyingly continued to run the tips of his fingers lightly, teasingly, against my centre, driving me insane.

"Aro…p-please…u-u-uh," I groaned a little louder than I would've liked.

He smirked and rubbed gentle circles around my bundle of nerves before plunging two fingers inside me without any warning. I gasped, my back arching as he held my hips in place firmly with his left hand while thrusting his fingers into me, slowly at first, but soon building up the pace to vampire speed. He felt so damn good, sinfully good, to the point where I thought I was going to scream. I cried out loudly his name once I hit my orgasm, grabbing his bed sheets tightly in my fists.

He licked his fingers with a smug grin on his face as his lips met back up with mine. I reached up to his shirt and jacket, fumbling with all of the buttons. Pushing my hands away, he instantly ripped them off of him so that the remaining shreds of fabric fell on the floor beside his bed.

"But what about-"

"I have plenty of shirts, _bellissima_, and I will buy you all the jeans you could ask for," he murmured.

I trailed my hands along his lean figure. He, like the other two, had a perfectly defined six-pack, with not a hair in sight except for a slight trail which led below the waistband of his trousers. I began to fumble clumsily with the zip in a messy attempt to take them off, before he placed one hand over mine.

"Eliana, you do not have to-"

"It's okay, it's fine," I assured, stammering on my words as he took of his trousers normally rather than ripping it to shreds. I was nervous, very nervous, which he could tell by my subtle tremble.

"_Cara mia_, if you do not feel comfortable-"

"I'm fine, babe," I insisted.

He instantly pulled off his pants so that his erection sprung free. I didn't want to over-inflate his ego, but he was definitely a little longer than Caius, not that much longer, but the difference was still noticeable. It was then that I realised he still had his left hand resting on the back of my neck, reading every thought going through my head. With a deep growl which made my heart race with anticipation, he captured his lips with mine and brought his body closer to me, the cold tip of his length pressed against my clitoris.

"Um A-Aro…" I trailed off nervously.

"I won't, _bellissima_," he reassured me softly, "I will take care of you."

He breathed in sharply and began to gradually roll his hips into me, which sent sparks of pleasure through my body. As the tip of him continued to drag along my entrance, he growled steadily while moans and cries continued to escape my lips. I let out a mumbled version of his name as he murmured something quickly in another language. The pace of the movement in his hips began to speed up and he threaded his fingers in my hair. He hit his climax with an animalistically growled version of my name, which was very shortly followed by me crying out his name at the top of my lungs.

It took me the longest time for my breathing to return to normal, which wasn't helped by him sucking at the skin on my neck which made me let out a weak whimper. He rolled off of me so that he was lying beside me, his left hand firmly placed on my hip.

"You are incredible, _cara mia_," he murmured into my ear now that his eyes had returned to their crimson colour, "simply stunning."

I swung my right leg over his hip, my breasts pressed up against his side. "I didn't realise you could rip off clothes like that."

He shook his head with a light chuckle, placing a kiss on the top of my head. "It proves a useful ability to possess."

"I was definitely louder than last time, if that's even possible," I blushed at the thought of my voice echoing through the halls, "Can I just hide from everyone in here for the rest of my life?"

"I get the feeling my brothers would oppose to that very much, although I would be very happy with you staying in here with me for as long as you desire," he responded.

"Are your quarters adjacent to Marcus' or Caius'? Who do I need to avoid?"

"Marcus is on the other end of the corridor, but you are very lucky that the Ukrainian coven has already left, as the leaders were staying in here," he tapped on the wall above the headboard.

"That could've been nasty," I grimaced, "I met one of them earlier."

"Yes, Andrey. He can be lovely really, but often lets his instincts get the better of him. What didn't help was the fact that you were with Heidi, making him assume you were part of her 'catch'," he growled bitterly at the thought.

"I'm fine, Aro, don't worry about it. Heidi wouldn't have let him hurt me at all, not unless she had a death wish in anyway," I assured him, "I mean, when he wasn't trying to eat me, he was a nice guy."

He hummed in agreement, his arms wrapped around me tightly as he tucked my head under his chin. "I love you, _piccola_, but you need to rest now."

"I love you, Aro."

* * *

I woke up the next morning feeling icky and in desperate need for a shower. Aro's arms were still tightly wrapped around me, holding my body flush against his.

"Good morning, _cara mia_," he smiled.

I groaned lightly, nuzzling into his neck comfortably. "I need a shower. And clothes. I need clothes."

"My bathroom is just through the door opposite," he pointed across the room, "and I will find you some clothes. How are you doing physically? Did I hurt you at all?"

"Not at all, last night was amazing," I placed a kiss on his jaw and rolled out of his bed, the cold air reaching my exposed skin, "I'm off to have a shower."

"Do not hesitate to call me should you require any assistance," he called cheekily.

To that comment, I rolled my eyes and locked the door to his bathroom behind me. I stopped before stepping into his shower; it was so complicated to use, with so many dials and settings and crap. Who the hell would need that many settings on a shower head? Well, Aro apparently.

After messing around with all of the different buttons for a few minutes, I managed to settle on a perfect stream and temperature, which in hindsight wasn't a good thing as now I'd be reluctant to leave. I probably spent about fifteen or so minutes under the bliss of the consistently hot running water before reluctantly climbing out of the shower.

It turned out that Aro had invited himself into the bathroom briefly somehow, as he'd left a small pile of clothes for me by the sink. At closer examination, I realised it was simply one of his dark maroon button-up shirts which, once I put it on, only just covered my ass. I quickly grabbed a white towel from the side and strolled back into his room.

"_Sei bellissima, cara_," he spoke as his eyes took in the sight of me in his clothes. He was already completely dressed in a very similar black button-up shirt and dress pants as the day before.

"I'm thinking to update my wardrobe so it solely contains your clothes," I giggled, leaning over to dry my hair.

He materialised in front of me. "Allow me, my dear."

Instantly, he took the towel from me and began gently rubbing my hair dry. "I'm just waiting for the moment Caius and Marcus invite themselves in," I laughed.

"Fortunately, my brothers have agreed to allow us the morning to ourselves," he chuckled, pulling the towel away and tossing it across the room.

"What colour were your eyes, before you became immortal?" I asked him.

"My eyes were deep blue, similar to yours, Caius' were hazel, and I do believe Marcus' were chocolate brown," he replied.

"I can't imagine you with blue eyes, I'm so used to your red ones."

"Some day, you will have red eyes as well," he reminded me.

"Three more years. Well, three years and a month," I shrugged.

"Of course, your birthday, we must celebrate that," he pulled me onto his lap on the end of his bed.

"Do we _have_ to?" I sulked.

"Don't you want to? You are fortunate that you have a specific date you can celebrate your birth on, _bellissima_. We must get you presents, and cake, and-"

"Please, just don't throw me a party or anything. I hate socialising with people when I don't have to."

"Would you be happy if you simply spent your birthday with us?" he asked hopefully.

I paused for a moment. "That could work," I giggled.

Suddenly, Aro's door flung open and Caius and Marcus materialised on Aro's sofa. I yelped in fright as Aro quietly shushed me. Not only was my heart beating out of my chest, but I was also beyond confused.

"Um…hello?" I drew my eyebrows together.

"Good morning, _carissima_," Caius inclined his head.

"No offence, but…actually, do take offence, what are you doing in here?" I asked exasperatedly.

"It is midday," Marcus replied simply.

I turned to Aro, unimpressed. "What was the agreement you made, then?"

He sighed. "I told them to allow me to have you alone for the morning."

"And it is no longer the morning, _tesoro_," Marcus informed me while looking my half-bare figure up and down.

"Is this going to happen every morning?" I groaned, hiding my face in Aro's chest.

"Do you not enjoy our company?" Caius quizzed me.

"Well, at the right time, yeah-"

"So you don't want us here?"

"No, that's not what I-"

"Then you are okay with us staying?" he smirked.

"You know what? This has been fun but I'd best go back to my room," I slid off Aro's lap and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips, "thanks for the evening, babe."

"See what you did?" I heard Aro hiss at them once I was out of the room.

"Ha!" I yelled, which echoed down the empty corridor.

**Author's note: I can't say I particularly enjoy writing these smut-y scenes, but I'm getting used to it haha. This chapter and the next one are both kinda heated, so I'm sorry if you have to wait a few days for a smut-free chapter.  
Translations (any errors are due to Google Translate, not me, but feel free to correct me in anyway):  
Sei magnifico - you are magnificent  
Sei bellissima, cara - you are beautiful, my dear  
Anyway, thank you so much for reading, be sure to leave some feedback, stay safe, and ily lots!**


	39. Chapter 39

**Warning: This chapter is rated MA 18+ and contains sexual activity between two consenting adults. If you're not comfortable with this, feel free to skip to the next chapter, but hey, you do you.**

For the next few days, to say I was bored would be an understatement. There'd been an issue with the dungeons overcrowding a little, so there was to be four days of back-to-back trials, releases, and executions. So, not only did I not have my mates around, but the entire guard was needed due to the sheer volume of vampires being brought through for trial.

The first day wasn't too bad, mind you. It gave me a chance to properly settle into my room, sort through my clothes and makeup, and nose around to see all of the little perks the room came with, such as the lights in my bathroom mirror which I accidentally discovered while poking around at the tiled walls.

It was on the second day of boring isolation that I received a phone call from the Cullens, Alice's familiar excited voice squealing on the other end of the line.

"Eli! You picked up!" she yelled.

"Why wouldn't I? There's nothing to do around here," I groaned into the phone.

"We have news, really exciting news, you'll love this news, it's really-"

"Cut to the chase, pixie," I snapped.

"Wow, you really are bored over there," she snorted with laughter, "actually, I'll get Bella to tell you the news."

I silently facepalmed during the muffled rustling while she handed the phone to Bella. "Eli?"

"Yeah, hey Bells, so what's the news then?" I asked.

"Okay, so…Edward and I got engaged," I could almost hear her smile through the phone. Aw, she adored that boy.

"Seriously?!" I leapt onto my bed, "Holy-moly, congratulations Bella!"

"Thank you, the invitations to the wedding are going out soon. I'm telling you earlier because I was wondering if…you…," she hesitated.

"_Spill bitch_," I joked.

"Hey, let me finish," she laughed under her breath, "I was hoping you'd want to be a bridesmaid?"

"Are you crazy? Of course I would! This is the best news I've heard all day, I'm so happy for you!" I squealed excitedly in a similar fashion to Alice.

"You are going to come to the wedding, right?" she asked.

"As if I would miss out on that, seriously, come on Bella. When will it be roughly, then?"

"During August I think, the date still hasn't been set in stone yet," she responded, "Will you bring your mates?"

"I mean, yeah, unless you don't want them to come, then I can talk them into staying behind. Either way, wherever I am, there _will_ be Volturi guard nearby."

"No, no, they can come if they want. This is gonna be fun!" she seemed slightly put off with the thought of the Volturi being there.

"Bells, this is your wedding, so if you really don't want them to come, I can always-"

"No it's fine, I'm looking forward to it," she assured half-heartedly, "so how are things in Italy?"

"Great, yeah. The Volturi guard are really sweet when you get to know them actually, except maybe Jane, my mates and I have become much closer, and I'm moving in permanently very soon."

"Oh my gosh, why didn't you tell me this?"

I paused. "Are you…annoyed at me? Or…"

"Don't be silly, I'm happy for you! That's really great, you're going to be an Italian vampire now," she responded happily.

"I still have three years left as a human though, _soooo_…" I bragged.

"Huh, how's that fair?" she questioned.

"Well, firstly I'm under constant supervision so there's no way I can remotely be considered a liability, and secondly, unlike you, I'm in love with the people who make the rules, HA!"

"Can you talk them into giving me longer then?" she asked hopefully.

"Sorry, you're already officially marked down as 'delayed' in the paperwork, so there's nothing I can do about it. Oh yeah, and there's literally a form for everything at this point. You should see the sheer volume of paperwork stacked up on their desks, it hurts to look at," I shrugged.

"Does Caius still hate me?"

"…less…he hates you _less_…" I answered awkwardly.

"Eli, you said you'd explain we're better now!" she groaned.

"I did! He's stubborn, you should know this by now. Don't worry about it, he won't do anything as long as I'm best friends with you," I reassured her.

"You're the best, El."

The rest of the second day I spent fantasising over the wedding. Ugh, I love weddings. From Alice's description, the dress was beyond stunning, and I couldn't wait to see it for myself. Apparently, she was taking her role as maid of honour very seriously, honestly Bella couldn't have made a better choice.

The next evening, I was sat boredly watching some German game show on TV from my bed. I kept the volume down to prevent it interrupting the trials, but it wasn't like I was missing much from not being able to hear it. A hesitant knock sounded from my door which caught me off-guard. I was told that no one would be around and everyone would be down in the throne room, at least for one more day.

Before I had the chance to get up, Marcus opened the door and walked in. As soon as I spotted him, I jumped to my feet from the bed and ran at him, hugging him as tightly as possible, to the point where, if he was human, I would've knocked him over. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders, placing a kiss on my forehead.

"Damn it, I've missed you so much. It's so boring around here, you have no idea," I giggled.

He hummed quietly in agreement, still holding me protectively in his arms while staring off into the distance. Something felt off about him and the bond, but I didn't have a clue as to what it was.

"I thought you weren't going to be finished until tomorrow," I questioned.

"I simply missed you, _tesoro_," he murmured in the same deep, grave tone he had a week before during Aro's little back-story.

He took my hand, leading me back out of my room and into the dim corridor without any explanation. "Marcus, where are we going?" I asked him.

"Back to my quarters for a while," he responded, snaking his right arm around my waist possessively.

We strolled along in silence for a few moments. "Are you okay?"

"Hm?"

"Sorry," I blushed and looked down at the ground, "I was just checking if you were okay, that's all."

He sighed. "I am fine, Eliana, there is nothing to concern yourself about," he assured.

I wasn't completely convinced but decided to take his word for it in anyway, continuing down the corridor and into his quarters in silence. The guards must've all been preoccupied with the trials, as I couldn't remember ever seeing the castle that empty before. Once we got in to his quarters, I settled down on the sofa on Marcus' lap, my head rested against his chest.

"How did the trials go then?"

"They were fine," he answered simply.

"Seriously, babe, are you okay?" I asked sincerely.

"I'm…" he hesitated for a moment, "fine."

I sat up straight and locked eyes with his. "Please talk to me. I know something's up, what happened in that trial?"

"Do not worry about me, _il mio amore_."

"I love you, I'll always worry about you no matter what," I placed my hand on the back of his neck and softly kissed him. Looking over on the side table, I noticed a small hardback book. "What's this?"

"Jane Eyre, translated into Italian," he replied.

"They made us study that book in English three years ago, and it's ruined it for me ever since," I shook my head.

"You will find it sounds much more beautiful in Italian," he responded, picking up the book and holding it in his right hand while his left arm wrapped tightly around my waist.

I listened to him read the book to me for the next hour or so peacefully, enjoying the sound of his smooth, deep voice. He was right; Jane Eyre does sound much more beautiful in Italian. After a few moments, I cut him off with a kiss, pressing my lips to his. He seemed taken aback at first, but then placed the book down beside us and pulled my right leg over so that I was straddled on his lap.

I forced myself away for air. "Please, what's the matter Marcus?"

"It is not of importance, _tesoro_," he shook his head, running one cold hand down just below the waistband of my jeans.

I sighed and dropped my head. "When you decide to talk about it, I'm here babe," I smiled reassuringly, threading my fingers in his hair.

He faintly smiled back, lightly kissing my lips. "I love you, _tesoro_."

"I love you so much."

His lips crashed against mine while he lifted me and propped me up against the wall in one swift movement. My legs wrapped themselves around his torso and my fingers entangled themselves in his hair. He growled deeply, sending shivers down my spine as he began to work my top off me, our lips only separating so he could pull the fabric over my head. Within an instant, he'd moved me to his bed on my back with my head on his pillows so that he was knelt between my legs, hovering above me. It was then that I realised how dark his irises had become, his gaze full of lust as he pulled off my bra.

He gently rubbed my breasts with his right hand, which caused me to let out a soft moan. His lips trailed down from my neck down to below my stomach, paying extra attention to my nipples. Once he made his way down to between my thighs, he easily ripped off my jeans and underwear, and began rubbing circles around my bundle of nerves with the pad of his thumb as I barely mumbled his name.

"M-Marcus…p-p-please…"

I noticed that he quickly bent down so his thumb was replaced by his tongue, which completely took me by surprise as I let out a sharp gasp. His tongue moved at an unfathomable speed, his right hand firmly gripping my waist so I couldn't buck my hips at all.

I hit my climax with a loud cry, all the muscles in my body clenching as I rode out my high. He swiped his tongue across my entrance one last time before he leant up so that his lips crashed against mine, pushing me back into the pillows. I could taste myself on him, which was…bizarre to say the least.

"_Magnifico_," he murmured.

Breaking off the kiss so that I could breathe properly, I reached up and clumsily attempted to undo the buttons on his shirt. He smirked at my useless attempt and tore it off his body with little effort, tossing it into the growing pile of the remaining shreds of our clothes. He did the same with his dress pants and rolled over onto his back, pulling me so that I was straddled on his hips with his erection underneath me.

Hesitantly, I pulled my right leg over to join my left and took his length in my right hand. I was still trembling slightly from the high I was still coming down from, which he must've mistaken as fear despite the low growl that sounded from his chest.

"_Tesoro_, you do not have to do this," he groaned out as I ran my hand up and down him slowly. In all honesty, I had no idea what I was supposed to do.

I ignored him, instead bringing my mouth to his tip and sucking in before trailing my tongue along his length. I took him in my mouth and began pumping him carefully, my tongue swirling around him. He groaned deeply and entangled his fingers into my hair, guiding my head gently to take in more of him. The pace of his thrusts increased and he growled my name loudly as he hit his climax and came into my mouth.

After swallowing, I glanced up at him sheepishly before averting my eyes downwards while a blush spread across my cheeks.

"You are adorable," I heard him chuckle lightly as he lifted my chin so our gazes met and tugged me over so that I was lying against him. He cradled me in his arms in silence, occasionally pressing kisses to the top of my head.

"Didyme," he stated after a few minutes once I had fully regained my breath.

"Pardon?" I asked curiously, shuffling further up so my head was in line with his.

"Her name was Didyme, my previous mate. Didyme was Aro's biological younger sister, with the ability to bring happiness to those around her. She was kind to every being she met, and I had never witnessed a hate bond extended from her. We were…wildly in love, with the dream of moving away from the coven, of starting a new life together. It was one night when I came back to our quarters, and she was not there as she usually was. None of the guard had seen her for hours. We searched for her relentlessly, to no avail, but the sudden disappearance of the thick mate bond I shared with her confirmed her fate.

"I never found her…her killer, I was never put at peace. I lost all faith in life, in hope, in love, until I met you, _il mio amore_. To this day, her…" he struggled to finish his sentence, understandably, "I have no lead on what happened, I could never bring justice to her, and only because I didn't fulfil my duty as her mate to protect her.

He paused. "It was in a trial today that a young vampire entered. He had lost his mate, they had only been married for a decade. He'd spent years searching for her, and became suicidal similarly to me. I just…" he trailed off.

I felt terrible for Marcus, absolutely terrible. Goddamn, I should never have pried, I should have just let him be. The sadness he was feeling reflected heavily in my bond, not helped by his depressing past, causing a tear to roll down my face. He wiped it away with the pad of his thumb, shushing me gently.

"I apologise, _tesoro_, I shouldn't have brought it up-"

"Stop apologising, are you crazy? If I'd known, I would've never gotten involved. If anything, I feel awful for what you went through, you have nothing at all to apologise about," I insisted, "I know sorry doesn't even come close, but I'm so incredibly sorry you had to go through that, Marcus, no one should have to see the love of their life suffer like that." I wrapped my arms around him tightly, holding onto him as if he was the only person left in existence.

"You are the true love of my life, tesoro. Are you not upset that I was in love before I met you?"

I shook my head. "You've been around for three thousand odd years, I knew you must've fallen in love at least once or twice. It's human…well, vampire nature."

"I will never allow myself to make the same mistake with you, _cara_. You mean more than the world to me, and I will always do everything in my power to make you feel safe," he pressed his lips to my forehead, rubbing gentle circles on my back, "I will _never_ allow you to suffer like Didyme did. I love you, Eliana."

Tears were still running down my face as I spoke, a contented smile playing on my lips. "I love you too, Marcus."

**Author's note: Baby Marcus nooooo, ugh I almost cried a little myself while writing this ha. By the way, this will probably be the last MA 18+ chapter in this story from what I have planned, so if you don't like that kinda thing, you're in luck. I've been working on rewrites for the first few chapters which I'll publish soon, but you won't need to reread it or anything because the plot will be exactly the same.  
Anyway, thank you so much for reading, be sure to leave some feedback because I love hearing your thoughts, stay safe, and ily lots!**


	40. Chapter 40

"Are you certain you have absolutely everything you need?" Aro clarified.

"Relax, I'm only going for a few days. If I forget anything, it couldn't have been that important to begin with," I shrugged.

I was standing in the underground car park beside one of many black BMWs the kings owned, Demetri already in the driver's seat while Afton was sprawled across the backseat. Felix placed my small suitcase in the boot, ready to leave for the UK for a few days. The plan was to spend the first day with my parents before they went on another one of their week long work trips and then pack all of my important possessions to leave home permanently. Emotionally, I had absolutely not a clue as to how I was going to make it through this.

"_Cara mia_, you have a tendency to be rather forgetful at times, I wouldn't want you arriving in the airport and realising you have misplaced anything valuable."

"I'm not forgetful, how dare you," I frowned.

"Yes, you are," Caius raised an eyebrow.

"What- but- I- Marcus, help me out here."

"I have to agree with my brothers here, _tesoro_. Only a few days ago, you were frantically searching Aro's office for your mobile phone, which you had been sitting on the entire time," Marcus reminded me.

"Yeah, you could've told me before I embarrassed myself like that," I shook my head.

"But when you are embarrassed, you blush, and it is gorgeous, _carissima_," Caius smiled.

I groaned and wrapped my arms around Caius, breathing in his scent for the last time in a few days. "Ugh, I don't want to leave, I don't want to do this," I whined.

"We will see you again very soon," he held my head to his chest and ran his fingers through my hair.

"As you said so yourself, you will only be gone for a few days," Aro reassured me as he pulled me into his embrace, pressing soft kisses to my hairline.

"I just get the feeling I'm going to end up coming back a crying mess," I tried to laugh off the fact that this was probably true.

"I have complete faith in you, _bellissima_," Marcus smiled, wrapping his arms around my shoulders with my head tucked under his chin.

I pulled away from him reluctantly, squeezing his hand briefly before climbing in to the passenger seat. Caius closed the door behind me while the window was still down.

"I don't know why I'm making this so dramatic," I laughed and instantly began messing with the radio much to Demetri's disappointment.

"We will miss you," Aro chuckled, all three of them taking a step back as the car began reversing.

I'd finally found a song I liked, 'Glamorous' by Fergie blasting out of the car while Demetri pulled away. "Yes Eli, perfect song choice for a moment like this," Afton snarked behind me.

I sighed. "Remind me why you're coming?"

"Emotional support, you're welcome, _milady_," he bowed, to which I rolled my eyes.

I turned to the window, sticking my arm out. "Bye!" I called out of the window at my mates as the car sped away out of the car park.

Afton pretended to sob. "I have been witness to many tragic farewells in my time, but none quite like this-"

"Oh, pipe it. At least I don't have to put up with your Kelly Clarkson music. About that, did the new speaker arrive?" I asked him.

"I wish. The shipment got delayed an extra two weeks. Rafael has now been put on dungeon duty for the next month, so there's always a silver lining."

"Dungeon duty?"

"Dealing with all the criminals," Demetri explained, "most have already been sentenced to death and await their execution, while some are still waiting to be trialled. We got through most of them over the past few days, mind you, so it's not like Rafael will have much to do down there."

"Dungeon duty," I repeated to myself with a laugh, "you really couldn't come up with a better name?"

"Like what?" Afton raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know, '_dungeon duty_' just sounds like some kind of crappy video game I'd find at a second hand store, surely you could've come up with something else," I shrugged, "so, you excited to spend a few days in the UK?"

"Can't wait," Afton responded deadpan, "I'm considering meeting your mother like Santiago did."

"Crazy, right? He just invited himself in for dinner with one of my parents. Hell, even my mates haven't met them yet, while he was even shown all of my baby photos and assumed to be my new boyfriend," I added exasperatedly.

"The Masters weren't happy about that at all, so I really wouldn't want to make the same mistake as _Tina_. Although, even if I don't come for dinner, I will steal that baby photo album," he laughed.

"You wouldn't."

"I will, and you know what? I'll even hand it to Master Marcus for safe keeping. I've heard there are some absolute _gems_ in there which I'm sure your mates will appreciate," he smiled mischievously.

"Apparently you were a messy eater when you were a baby," Demetri teased.

"And you weren't a fan of wearing clothes," they both cackled.

I rolled my eyes. "Laugh it off, why don't you? Please don't humiliate me with those photos."

"Oh, but I must," Afton insisted sarcastically, "if I don't bring those photos to the Masters, they'll take the album for themselves in anyway."

"Why is everyone so set on embarrassing me?" I grumbled.

"Because its fun and you are such an easy target," Afton responded simply.

"I am not!" I yelled, which made them both laugh even harder.

* * *

Once I got into the airport in London, much to my surprise, I hadn't forgotten a single thing. I even made a mental note; _told you Aro, I'm more competent than you give me credit for_. Afton had disappeared as the guard always did whenever I was away from Volterra, along with Demetri and whatever other guard had been sent to babysit me.

The rest of the day I had spent with my parents as planned. I tried to act as unsuspicious as possible, ensuring I channelled my inner hormonal teenager during everything we did. As the plane journey had only been two hours, I spent most of the day on a walk through the countryside while my dad talked for hours about the different types of trees and birds he spotted, followed by my mum taking me to some kind of second-hand sale, meaning I left with piles and piles of vintage clothing.

By the time it got to the late evening, my parents had already left for their work trip to Dubai. It was a difficult goodbye, and I burst into tears just before they left the door, but my parents both assumed it was solely due to the painkillers I'd taken for my headache.

Once they left, I sulked up my staircase and fell backwards onto my bed with a loud thud. The sun had already gone down so that the only source of light in the room was my pathetic desk lamp, which provided a small yellow circle of light. My tears had now mostly dried up and now I was just feeling depressed and in need of a giant tub of ice-cream, but more importantly my mates.

Afton appeared on my windowsill in a similar fashion to Santiago before. He watched on as I stared at my ceiling blankly, barely acknowledging his presence there.

"Sadness," he mocked me and traced his finger down his cheek to symbolise a tear falling.

"Do you mind? I'm having a moment here, thanks," I grumbled.

"Anything I can get you to 'emotionally support' you through this?" he asked, drawing quote marks in the air.

"There's a tub of Ben and Jerry's vegan ice-cream downstairs in the freezer. That and a spoon," I mumbled.

He disappeared momentarily, and I heard a series of bangs and thuds coming from the kitchen before he reappeared beside me, ice-cream tub and spoon in hand. "You're not going to eat that whole thing, are you?"

I sighed. "Try and stop me."

"I'm surprised, El. Most teenagers would be overjoyed to hear that they could finally leave their parents," he mused.

"Well, I'm not like most teenagers," I spoke with a mouthful of ice-cream.

"No shit," he laughed.

I couldn't help but chuckle quietly with him. "My parents have always been like this, you know? They care about me and love me like any good parents, but they weren't always around for me when I needed them. Yeah, yeah, I get they needed to work to keep a roof over our heads, and I appreciated that, but it taught me to be overly independent at a very young age. It got to the point where I would spend more time sleeping over at my creepy aunt's house than here."

"Creepy aunt?"

"Yeah, Bertha was her name. She's dead now, she was my great aunt. She would scold me for literally anything she disapproved of, like how she confiscated my book, i.e. my only source of entertainment in her boring ass house, because I accidentally knocked over a glass of water. It's the little things," I shrugged, "she cared about me though, in her own little twisted way, and she took care of me when my parents weren't there to, so I had to thank her for that."

"Wow, I'm sorry Eli. Bertha though, seriously?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Oi, I didn't name her, my great grandmother did," I held my hands up with my palms facing out, "besides, your name is literally Afton. _Afton_."

"What's your problem with my name?" he asked, offended.

"It sounds like the kinda sound I would make while spitting out toothpaste, like 'af-ton'," I gestured spitting into a sink.

"Huh, rude," he snapped in an overly-feminine voice.

My phone, which was sat on my desk, buzzed suddenly. I leapt across my bed to it and opened the message, which apparently was a group message from the girl I used to go to school with, Emilie.

_Tomorrow at 7pm, I'm having a party at my place. The whole thing is neon themed, bring alcohol, and ask me before bringing any plus ones.  
Unless they're super hot, then its fine, but I might steal them from you aha lol._

"Uh-oh," Afton piped in beside me.

"What?"

"You have that face, the kind of one you pull whenever you come up with a dumb, regrettable decision," he accused.

I tried to force the corners of my mouth down. "No I do not, I just got good news."

"Care to share?" he gestured for me to spill.

"Fine, one of my friends is having a big party tomorrow night, I'm thinking of going for the fun of it," I explained.

"No."

"Ye' what?" I cocked my head to the side.

"No, do you have any idea what the Masters will do to me if they found out I let you do something that…reckless?"

I waved my hand dismissively. "What's the worst that could happen?"

"Eli, you are the human mate of the three most powerful vampire figures in the supernatural world. If something were to happen to you, both my world and your human world would crash and fall," he informed me gravely.

"Oh, calm down, I'll be fine," I assured him.

"At least think about this first," he requested, but I was too busy messaging Emilie, "…Eli!"

I quickly snapped my attention back to him. "Sorry, Emilie's bringing a dress for me to borrow tomorrow afternoon. She has this really nice neon dress and she's my size and-"

"This really isn't a good idea," he cut in.

"Do you want to come? You can guard me there, turn invisible if it makes you feel any better," I proposed.

"Parties aren't my scene," he replied simply.

"Suit yourself, Demetri? Whoever else is with him?" I called into the distance.

Demetri and Jane both appeared in my room, which was a really odd scene to get used to. My entire bedroom was still pink and girly from the whole 'fairy princess' phase I was going through when I was nine.

"How may we be of assistance, _milady_?" Demetri bowed his head.

"Drop the 'milady' act Demetri, I was wondering if either of you wanted to come to the party tomorrow. I assume you already heard the entire conversation."

"You know I'll just inflict pain on all of those weak, drunk, horny teenagers," Jane stated matter-of-factly, spitting each word that came out of her mouth.

"Fine, Demetri?" I turned my head to him.

"Same, but not mental pain, instead just drinking them dry," he shrugged.

"Geez, can't go anywhere with you two. Fine, I'll go by myself," I said.

Afton groaned. "Fine, I'll come, but don't expect me to be any fun."

I giggled and clapped my hands. "Don't be a buzz kill, I need this night."

**Author's note: Yes, party Eli. This chapter is pathetically short, but it's not a particularly important one in anyway. Thank you so much for reading, be sure to leave some feedback, stay safe, and ily lots!**


	41. Chapter 41

I'd spent most of the last evening chatting with Afton, Demetri and Jane. I was still feeling a little sour about leaving but, in their weird way, they did make the whole situation a little easier on me. Maybe it was true; maybe they were like a bunch of annoying siblings. Strangely enough, I supposed the Volturi were as good as my family at this point.

My eyes gradually fluttered open, the pink hues from the sunrise beaming into my room. Fernando had been sleeping on top of me but was now gone, probably due to my constant tossing and turning during the night. The window was still wide open but I ignored it and began to sit up straight.

"Good morning, _tesoro_-"

I almost screamed just as a cold hand was placed over my mouth. Still attempting to regain my breath, I looked up to be met with Caius' soft yet stern gaze as he shushed me gently.

"_Carissima_, it is okay, it is just us, there is no need to scream," he reassured, pulling me into his embrace while he laid down to my left beside me on top of my covers.

As soon as he removed his hand from my mouth, I started talking. "Goddamn it, you just can't help it, can you? For someone who worries about my fragility, you're literally going out of your way to give me a heart attack."

Aro flitted over to my other side. "We would never, _cara mia_, we only came to surprise you," he cuddled me from behind, wrapping his arms around my waist and pressing gentle kisses to my neck.

Marcus at first seemed a little disappointed that there was little room for him to snuggle up with me, but instead he half draped himself over me like a cold blanket, his head rested on my hip.

"How long were you standing there for?" I drew my eyebrows together and moved my arm so I could run my fingers through Marcus' hair, which earned a subtle contented purr that vibrated through my body.

"Ah yes, we arrived only an hour after you fell asleep, Afton informed us," Aro responded, "we had to remove your feline friend from your room as he began meowing at us, and even attempted to attack Caius."

I gasped. "Oh my God, is Fernando okay?"

"Sure, do not worry about poor Caius, but as long as the filthy vermin is alive and well, everything is great," Caius snapped from beside me.

Marcus chuckled. "Fernando is fine, _tesoro_, I saw him out of your window happily chasing a mouse less than an hour ago. If you were wondering, Caius is also fine."

"I can speak for myself, thank you brother," Caius narrowed his eyes at him, "your precious Fernando ripped part of my cloak and caused a thin crack to form across my leg."

"Oh geez, I'm so sorry Caius, he's never usually like that. Usually, he's just so…placid," I shrugged, pushing a strand of his snowy blonde hair out of his face.

"Yes, I had to pry him off Caius here," Aro humoured, "I was so worried he would wake you up."

"What are you three doing here then?" I asked them.

"We missed you and wanted to keep you company," he answered, pulling me back as close to him as possible, "we also felt the mating pulls last night after you said goodbye to your parents."

"Oh, I'm sorry," I blushed and hid my face.

"Do not apologise, mating pulls often occur during times of extreme emotion, but will always affect us worst. Not only because we are immortal, but because…" Marcus trailed off.

I gestured for him to continue. "Because…?"

"Please do not take offence by this, but we three are the most dominant in your relationship," he winced slightly at the sentence.

I stared at him blankly. "That's it? Hell, I'm already aware of that, don't worry about offending me," I giggled, "but does that mean you feel mating pulls worse than me?"

"Yes, yesterday it was only a slight tug fortunately, but it did confuse our emotions," Marcus replied.

"Aro seemed like he was on the brink of tears," Caius laughed along with Marcus.

"I did no such thing," Aro defended with a frown, "To change the subject, when were you planning to inform us about this party you'd like to attend tonight?"

Caius' face instantly became sterner. "What party? Who invited you? Will there be males there? I do not trust them to go anywhere near what is mine-"

"One of my friends invited me, you won't know her. And it's fine, I know most of the people who are going, and my friend is coming later to drop of a dress for me to borrow."

"You will not go to this party," Caius snapped.

"Yes, I will," I seethed.

"No, you will not, Eliana."

"And why the hell not? Afton offered to come with me to guard me, and Demetri and Jane will surround the house, so there's nothing to panic about," I argued.

Marcus glanced up at me. "Afton is going with you?"

"Well…yeah, he said it would be dumb if I went by myself, and both Demetri and Jane refused."

"Didn't you think of asking us to come with you?"

"In my defence, I wasn't expecting you to come here at all. But, now that you're here, do you want to come to Emilie's neon themed house party with me?" I asked them.

"Ah, we would love to," Aro exclaimed, "I have always wanted to meet your fellow students. Your generation are absolutely fascinating."

"No Aro, they are stupid," Caius snarled.

"Babe, if you don't want to come, we can just leave you behind-"

"Oh no, there is no way I will let you go to this so-called party without me beside you to destroy any piece of scum who dares lay a finger on _my_ little mate," he growled.

"There you go then, easy. It starts at 7:00, but we should probably be fashionably late."

I began to get up but none of them were willing to let me go, Aro keeping a firm grip around my waist. "_Cara mia_, why so desperate to leave us?"

"I have a lot of packing to do, better to get it over and done with," I shrugged, wriggling out of their hold and heading to the bathroom to change.

Once I came back out of the bathroom and had finished having breakfast and changing into more comfortable clothes, I sat at my desk and took out a piece of paper and pen, ready to write some form of note to my parents. Marcus and Aro were sat either side of me while Caius was reclined back on my bed with his hands behind his head.

I banged my head on the table, muffling my voice. "How do I even start something like this?"

"Write from the heart, how you truly feel," Marcus clasped my hand in his.

"But leave out anything to do with immortality, or we will have no choice but to execute them," Caius called over casually.

After an hour of painful writing and scraps of paper being tossed into the bin, I managed to finally come up with something mildly acceptable.

_Dear Mum and Dad,  
I'm sorry I'm doing this to you, I just wish it didn't have to be like this. I've left home permanently, left the country even. I'm ready to start a new life on my own and experience the world for myself. I won't say where I'm going, so please don't try and look for me, but I promise I'm safe, and happy, and being taken care of.  
Thank you for everything you've done for me over the years, I appreciate everything you do, but now I'm starting a new chapter in my life. I have already taken my legal documents with me, but I'm leaving Fernando for you to deal with (you're welcome).  
I love you millions, and I promise I'll stay safe and never forget all you've done for me. Thank you.  
Eliana xx_

Caius was the last one to read it over. "Short, sweet, to the point. Took longer than necessary to write it, but we got there in the end," he handed the paper back to me.

"Boom, done, now to pack," I placed the letter back down on my desk and bustled over to my wardrobe where all of my belongings were stored.

"What are you packing?" Aro asked curiously.

"Just a few keepsakes, like this," I pulled out my diary from when I was eight.

Marcus appeared in front of me. "May I read it?"

"_Psh_, no, this stuff is beyond embarrassing," I shook my head.

He attempted to reach for it but I held it behind my back. Within an instant, he somehow already had it in his hand and was flicking through the pink scribbled pages.

"Marcus, give it back," I whined, jumping up for it.

He continued to wave it high above his head tauntingly. After a few failed jumps, I wrapped my arms around his neck so that my feet were off the ground while reaching up for it with my left arm. He simply chuckled at this, placing a kiss on my nose with an arm around my waist.

"I will not return this until I have read it through fully, _bellissima_. I have already skimmed a few pages, and there are certainly some interesting entries in here," he grinned.

"Ugh, you're so mean," I pouted and landed back down on my feet with a thud.

"Maybe I am," he added teasingly.

The doorbell suddenly rang, followed by a few impatient knocks on the door. I bolted down the stairs as fast as I could and leapt for the front door, opening it to be met with Emilie, a carrier bag in her hand.

"Your dress," she hastily thrusted the bag to me, "I don't have long, return it tomorrow at any time, see you tonight!" she called and ran for her car.

"Can't wait!" I waved out of the door at her and closed it gently behind me.

"Let us see this dress then," Caius crossed his arms over his chest with a smirk.

"You'll see it later," I laughed, running back up the stairs closely followed by the three of them.

* * *

"I don't know how I feel about this," I called from inside the bathroom.

"I am sure you look gorgeous as always, _il mio amore_," Aro's muffled voice reassured me.

Oh no, gorgeous was not the issue here. The dress was a neon orange coloured vinyl mini dress with spaghetti straps, which made my hips look wider and my boobs look bigger. Sure, I looked great, but the dress itself was short, and when I say short, I mean _short_. I wasn't usually the kind of girl to walk around in miniskirts and all that jazz, evident by my awkwardness in the outfit I was wearing.

Timidly, I unlocked the door to the bathroom and walked into my bedroom before smoothing out any painfully obvious creases in the dress. Now looking in my full-length mirror, I saw just how ridiculously revealing the whole thing was.

I rotated around to check the back. "I don't know if I like it."

"You look breathtaking," Aro murmured huskily after suddenly appearing beside my shoulder, his cold breath against my neck sending shivers through me.

Looking over at my bed, while Caius growled deeply, Marcus just seemed to me absolutely lost for words. Nonetheless, all three of their irises had become completely pitch black, and it felt like they were undressing me with my eyes.

"Oh, I also need shoes," I hurried over to my wardrobe and pulled out a pair of white vinyl heeled boots along with a neon green puffer jacket I'd bought with the gift card I'd been given for Christmas.

"Are you certain you want to attend this party? We could always stay here, it would be much more entertaining," Caius whispered suggestively into my ear as I pulled on my boots beside him.

"I'm not going to dress up like this just to stay at home," I kissed his jaw briefly and stood back up on my feet, realising that the heels meant I was just an inch off of Aro's height, "oh, and you need to follow the dress code at least a little."

Marcus' eyes went wide in panic. "I am not wearing neon, Eliana."

Far from it in truth, all three of them were dressed in their usual dark clothing. While Aro wore a black button up shirt and dress pants with a maroon velvet waistcoat, Caius wore a burgundy shirt with black dress pants and a black suit jacket that he had rolled up past his elbows, and Marcus wore his usual pristine black suit with a grey scarf loosely wrapped around his neck. Of course, all three of them had their Volturi crests around their neck as always.

"Not at all what I was suggesting, but I like your thinking," I giggled and handed them each a glow band, "just put one of these on your wrist, they glow in the dark."

Caius snapped his one and put it on, turning to me with a scowl. "Pink?"

"Not a pink kinda guy? Fine, here's yellow," I tossed him another band which he caught easily.

"And I presume these are safe?" Aro examined his bright blue glow band.

"Yeah, probably, just don't break open the plastic because I doubt the chemicals inside are good for you," I responded.

"Is this truly necessary, _tesoro_?" Marcus asked, glancing at his green glow band.

"Hey, I'm already technically not supposed to bring any plus ones, and now I have three. I'm sure it'll be fine though, Emilie said in her message that it's fine if they're hot."

"We are hot?" Aro smiled smugly.

"You should see the other boys my age, absolutely atrocious bunch of chavs, and they expect us to want to sleep with them in anyway," I pointed a finger in my mouth and pretended to gag, "_leggo_!"

**Author's note: Yass party Eli! I don't know why I laughed so hard at the thought of the Volturi at a neon disco party with glow bands, but I just knew I had to include it in here somewhere. The next chapter is going to be so much fun haha, I can't wait for you to read it.  
Anyway, thank you so much for reading, be sure to leave some feedback because I love hearing your views, stay safe, and ily lots!**


	42. Chapter 42

I was sat in the backseat of the BMW between Aro and Marcus while Caius had taken it upon himself to drive us to Emilie's house. I'd given him very clear directions and provided him with the address and even a map of where it was, yet still he managed to get us lost, so we circled around her block again, and again, and again. When we did eventually find her house, he couldn't find a parking space, prompting some minor road rage between him and some guy on his motorbike that had used up the last free space.

Once we were finally parked, Caius began to reach for the door handle. "Stop," I held my hand up, "I think maybe it would be smart if I didn't walk around telling everyone I have three boyfriends."

"Ah, but it is always more fun that way," Aro laughed sarcastically.

I shook my head at him before continuing. "So, I've decided that Caius will act as my 'boyfriend' because he is closest to my age physically," I turned to him sternly, "don't blow your chances on this blondie, or I'll replace you easy."

Usually Caius would be a little annoyed at my 'attitude', but he seemed too pleased with the news that he would be the one to walk around with me to be angry. Aro and Marcus, however, were visibly disappointed, although they tried very hard to hide it.

Marcus climbed out from my right and held the car door open for me to assist me out. Either way, I stumbled a little at the curb, only to be caught by Aro before I had the chance to trip over. Caius didn't hesitate to wrap his right arm possessively around my waist and lead me up to the front door with Marcus and Aro both trailing behind with their shoulders subtly slumped over.

When Emilie said 'party', I didn't think she meant turning her entire house into some kind of nightclub. The constantly flashing strobe lights hurt my eyes a little and painfully loud electronic music blared from the massive speaker system she had set up in the corner of her front room. If anything, looking around at some of the other girls here, I felt overdressed. Caius seemed marginally disgusted at the drunkenness of some of the people in the room as almost everyone seemed to be carrying a bottle of beer or a red plastic cup.

"Eli-Eli-Eli, hey gorgeous!" One of my friends, Chloe, stumbled over to me and wrapped her arms around my shoulders tightly, offering me her plastic cup, "want some?"

"What is it?" I yelled over the deafening music.

"Vodka, it's incredible girl," she downed it in one gulp, "catch you later!" she called as she spotted someone else in the dense crowd of people.

"Who was that?" Caius spoke as close to my ear as possible so I could hear him.

"Chloe, yeah, she's always the first one to lose all sense at these kinda things," I laughed.

Marcus stepped over beside me. "You are not planning on drinking, are you?"

"Hell no, you have no idea the kind of guys Emilie has invited and what they do to some of the drinks here. Look, that guy over there, the one talking to the girl with the purple hair," I pointed into the crowd, "his name is Ethan, and he cooks drugs into a bunch of baked goods and distributes them to people. I almost took a cupcake from him once, now that could've ended badly."

"What did I tell you, Aro? Stupid, that pathetic adolescent boy had the balls to attempt to drug _my_ little mate, and goodness knows whatever other disgusting intentions he had planned towards her!" Caius barked, his grip on my waist tightening considerably.

"Now, now, brother, no harm was done, no matter the intentions," Aro spoke calmly but still raised his voice so I could hear their conversation.

"Everyone thinks he's a dick, don't worry. He probably just gatecrashed this party, so I give you full permission to feed on him," I giggled, taking Caius' cold hand and leading him through the crowd, "let's go meet people."

"How many people here do you know then?" he asked.

"Most of them, but I only really talk to a few- BECKY!" I shouted, dragging Caius along behind me like a stubborn puppy dog.

"Eli, I didn't realise you were coming!" she hugged me briefly, almost spilling the contents of her beer bottle over me, "and who's this?"

"This is my boyfriend, Caius," I gestured to him, "and his brothers, Aro and Marcus!"

She looked at me confusedly, probably due to their bizarre names. Caius glared at her slightly while Aro leant over and shook her hand. "Pleasure to meet you, my dear!"

"If you get the blonde one, can I have the other two?" she laughed, looking Aro and Marcus up and down.

"They're married bitch!" I jokingly kicked her leg and hugged her once more before she ran off back into the crowd after spotting her boyfriend.

As the four of us continued to slowly edge our way through the crowds of people, I noticed that, while Marcus had been walking through in virtual silence and Caius was subtly spilling people's drinks on them, Aro had shaken hands with almost everyone we'd met so far.

"Aro, you're really reading everyone in here?" I turned to face him.

"I have a fun list of people who have fantasised about you at some point in their lives, and I will certainly share it later! Some of the fantasies were…fascinating!" he clapped his hands gleefully.

Caius growled, holding me possessively close to him. "No one is allowed to fantasise about _my_ mate in that way other than me!"

"I agree with Caius, Aro that list is disgusting!" Marcus chimed in.

"But are you not the least bit curious, brother? Some of them really did come as a surprise to me!" he seemed worryingly excited about this.

"You just can't help it, can you?" I shook my head with a laugh and continued leading us slowly through Emilie's front room.

After a few moments, I turned around to see that some basic blonde bitch was flirting with Aro. For some reason, nothing but jealousy overtook my emotions and my hands formed tight fists at my sides. It looked like Aro was attempting to politely get rid of her, but she was not only drunk, but also stubbornly leaning on his shoulder.

With a growl, I forced a smile and stepped over to Aro, kissing him on the cheek and embracing him tightly. "Can I help you?"

"She's yours then? Huh, shame, you could do way better! If you ever get bored of this chick, I'm around!" she called, ducking back into the crowd.

"Eliana, I never thought of you as the jealous type!" he humoured.

I turned to Aro exasperatedly. "Can you maybe not try and find a new mate for yourself while we're here?"

"She is not at all my type, _cara mia_!" he chuckled and kissed my forehead before handing me back over to Caius who encircled his arm back around my waist.

"What's your type then?" I raised an eyebrow.

"About 5'5" tall, brunette hair which has been coloured blonde, gorgeous blue eyes, perfect lips, breathtaking figure, adorable smile and laugh, shares a true mate bond with me!" he yelled while 'Shut Up and Drive' blared out of the speaker system.

"You have the same type as me, what joy!" Marcus chuckled.

I blushed and hid my face in Caius' shoulder as we worked our way through a few more people. Once 'Just Dance' by Lady Gaga came on, Chloe came out of the crowd and grabbed my hand, leading me over to the dance floor with her. Caius followed reluctantly along with Aro and Marcus just behind him. I danced with her for the duration of the song, while my mates watched on in amusement as I belted out the lyrics. She scrambled off once 'Promiscuous' came on, which was when Marcus hesitantly came to join me on the dance floor.

I took his hands and tugged him towards me. "Come dance!"

"How is this considered music?" he chuckled with his arms wrapped around my waist.

I placed my hands on his shoulders as we lazily swayed along to the music, despite the song being a little too lively for that. "Don't you like it?"

"Half of the songs I have listened to here so far have been about sex, including this one!" he laughed.

"Come on, it's fun!" I giggled, tucking a strand of his hair out of his face and behind his shoulder.

Aro stepped over beside us. "When is it my turn then?"

"That other bitch you were talking to is over there somewhere!" I pointed into the distance with a giggle.

He frowned and pulled me away from Marcus by my waist before spinning me around to face him. "You are the only one I want, _bellissima_, and I always get what I want!"

"Do you now?" I eyed him sceptically and attempted to pull away from him to go to Caius.

He held me flush against him, his grip around my waist tighter than before. "I do, and I always will!"

I giggled. "How's your little fantasy list going then?"

"I will inform you later tonight, but the list is growing considerably!" he chuckled.

"God, why the hell are people wasting their time thinking about me?" I laughed awkwardly.

"Because any man would be the luckiest man in the world to have you in their life, or their bed," he leaned in to whisper huskily in my ear, "but you are mine, _il mio amore_, and I will do with you whatever I please."

Caius was suddenly standing beside us. "Brother, please do list these names now so I can hunt the pathetic scum down sooner rather than later!"

"That would be quite the bloodbath, I can assure you!" Aro smiled slightly psychotically.

He growled. "They have no right to be fantasising about _my_ little mate, Aro!"

"I'm not that little!" I insisted.

"Yes you are, _carissima_!" he grinned and turned back around to face Aro, "Only I am allowed to fantasise about Eliana, not those-"

"You do?" I asked him.

Aro chuckled. "He does, very often as well! So does Marcus, and admittedly me, but I am already aware that you do the same, _cara mia_! Just last night, you were fantasising deeply about Marcus-"

"Why are you like this?" I hid my face in his shirt.

"You were?" Marcus appeared on the other side with a smug grin on his face.

I glanced up at Aro. "Aro, some things just shouldn't be verbalised!" I raised my voice over the music.

"Eli, I have something I think you'll love!"

I spun on my heel to be met with Ethan, carrying a suspicious-looking Tupperware container. "Yes Ethan?"

Caius growled, pulling me back by my arm and gripping my waist securely. Meanwhile, Aro leant over and shook his hand. "It is wonderful to meet you, Ethan!"

Ethan cocked his head to the side. "You too man, came over to offer some macaroons!"

"I see, you're really pushing yourself out of your comfort zone and cooking something other than cupcakes then?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Trust me, these will change your life," he reached into the container and held out an oddly delicious-looking one, "don't knock it 'til you've tried it!"

I rolled my eyes. "Well I am knocking it thanks, keep it moving!"

"Just take it for later!" he insisted.

Ignoring Caius' increasing growls, I took the macaroon from him and crumbled it in my hand into his Tupperware container. "Not a baked goods kinda girl, sorry dude!"

"_Bitch_," he muttered under his breath and weaved away back into the crowd.

Marcus started for him but I held him back. "Don't bother, you're wasting your time!"

"I must say, you handled that exceptionally!" Aro smiled.

"I wanted to rip his throat out!" Caius snarled.

I patted him on the shoulder. "I know, I know!"

"Maybe this is a good a time as any to leave?" Marcus suggested, taking my hand in his.

"Good idea, let's go!" I giggled as Marcus lead me back out of the house and down the front path.

"This was fun," Aro clapped his hands together joyously.

"No it was not, brother. Now I want to kill these teenage boys more than I did before," Caius groaned, climbing back into the driver's seat.

I sat in the backseat as before between Aro and Marcus, while Aro couldn't help but place his hand on the inside of my thigh, his fingertips slowly edging upwards. _Not now_, I thought to myself, and he reluctantly moved his hand away and placed it in his lap. The rest of the drive back was much shorter than the drive there, probably because Caius wasn't busy stressing out about parking spaces.

Once we got back out of the car outside my house, Marcus instantly picked me up bridal style as I let out a startled yelp and placed me down on his lap on the edge of my bed within a split second. His lips softly caressed my neck and his hands rested on my hips while Aro suddenly captured my lips passionately with his. I felt another pair of cold hands prying my skin-tight dress off my body roughly and I froze up suddenly.

This was weird. Why was this weird? It just was, I mean, sex with all three of them at once? Something inside of me really felt uncomfortable with the thought of it, it just seemed so…alien.

Marcus sensed my sudden feeling of discomfort and began purring in my ear reassuringly. Caius took a step back along with Aro, who carefully ran the back of his hand along the side of my face.

"Is something the matter, _tesoro_?" Marcus murmured.

"Eliana simply feels uncomfortable with the thought of all three of us pleasuring her at once," Aro explained softly.

_Pleasuring? Again? Surely there's a better term to use._

Aro withdrew his hand with a chuckle. "Unlike Caius, I will not use terms such as 'finger fucking', _cara mia_."

"Why does it make you feel so uncomfortable?" Caius asked me.

I glanced down at my lap timidly and blushed. "For now, I'm just drawing the line at gang-banging."

"Gang-banging?" Marcus seemed confused.

Caius laughed. "It is when multiple partners engage in sex with another partner, brother. You have a lot to learn."

"And you didn't approve when I used the term 'pleasuring'," Aro shook his head light-heartedly in disbelief.

I opened my mouth to say 'you can't make me' before closing it again. They could, they could easily. Hell, they were a bunch of ridiculously-strong vampires, and I was a weak human girl, what chance did I stand?

Aro removed his hand from my thigh, which I didn't even realise was there before, with a frown on his face. "_Bellissima_, we will never force you into anything you are not comfortable with."

Marcus tightened his arms around my waist, pressing gentle kisses to the exposed skin on my neck and shoulder. "Maybe another time," he chuckled under his breath.

Quickly, Caius scooped me up from Marcus' lap and placed me down on his, holding me as humanly close to him as possible and cradling me gently in his arms as if I was the most fragile object in existence. After a few moments, I stood up from his lap and picked up a t-shirt from the back of my desk chair.

"What are you doing, _carissima_?" Caius asked.

"Do you honestly think I'm going to sleep in this?" I raised my eyebrow, gesturing to the dress which was now sliding off my body to the point where it only just covered the important parts.

I hastily dashed into the bathroom and came out a few moments later, dress in hand. It seemed that, yet again, my mates couldn't help but stare at me when I came through my bedroom door. Probably because I was literally only wearing a t-shirt and underwear, mind you.

I glanced at them blankly, my cheeks heating up. "What did I do this time?"

"Nothing at all, _tesoro_," Marcus pretended to be interested in something in the distance.

I crawled across my bed and settled on top of Caius, with just enough space for Aro and Marcus to lie down beside us. He moved me so that I was lying on my front with my legs either side of him and pulled a throw blanket over us, not that I needed it as it was the middle of summer.

"So," Aro began, "did you want to hear the list of people who have at some point fantasised about dear Eliana?"

"Lord give me strength," I muttered.

He chuckled. "I will take that as a yes, _cara mia_. Now, in order of who we encountered during that fun little visit to Emilie's house: Sam, other Sam, Charlie…," the list continued for a minute or so, "…and finally, Ethan. Ethan was particularly fascinating, I found his fantasy rather spectacular myself."

Caius didn't seem overly bothered by the list of names, but I knew that couldn't possibly be a good sign. Marcus however seemed to tense up a little more at each name, so I squeezed his hand reassuringly as he traced patterns absent-mindedly on the skin of my forearm.

"Well, it's not like I'll ever see them again in anyway," I shrugged.

"But they could continue to have these inappropriate thoughts for the foreseeable future," Caius argued.

"Babe, just let it go, they're just a bunch of horny ass teenage boys who will literally sleep with any girl who shows any slight interest in them," I assured him.

He gave up but still growled lowly while he held my head to his chest. "You are mine,_ carissima_. Sleep now, you need rest."

**Author's note: There you have it, the Volturi awkwardly standing around at a teenager's party. It's so sad that there literally are very few chapters left in this story, but I hope you'll be pleased to hear that I will definitely be starting a sequel very soon after this is complete.  
Anyway, thank you so much for reading, be sure to leave some feedback because your comments are brilliant haha, stay safe, and ily lots!**


	43. Chapter 43

"Eliana, _il mio tesoro_."

I groaned and buried my head in Caius' neck while Marcus attempted to gently shake me awake. I'd been dreading this day for a while as this was the day I would finally leave home. The sun shone blindingly into the room which was how I could tell just how long I must've slept in for.

"Ten more minutes," I mumbled.

With a light chuckle, Aro placed his hands on my waist and pulled me up from on top of Caius and onto his lap. Too tired to support my own weight, I sat slumped against his chest with my eyes only half open.

"You cannot hide away in your bed forever, _cara mia_," he shook his head and laughed.

I yawned, arching my back, before curling into a tight ball with my knees drawn up to my chest. "Watch me."

"As tempting as that sounds, today is a busy day. We have no time to waste!"

He clapped his hands with an excited grin on his face and easily handed me over to Marcus, who carried me off the bed and placed me down on my feet on the floor. I wrapped my arms around his neck and leant against him lazily.

"I want to go back to bed," I whined.

I began my way back under the covers when Marcus gripped onto my waist, firmly holding me against him. "That is not an option, go and get ready."

"You're such a party-pooper," I groaned and picked up some clothes from my wardrobe before heading to the bathroom.

Caius quickly grabbed my arm, stopping me in my tracks with a grin. "It is not necessary to dress in the bathroom simply due to the fact that we are here."

I sighed. "Fine, if that's what you'd prefer, I'll dress here like some kind of crazy strip show."

The whole time while I changed, I felt their eyes focused on my body which was just a little unnerving, though every time I turned my head to face them, they managed to avert their gaze with their vampiric speed. I quickly checked out my outfit in the mirror, wearing a pair of white denim shorts and a mustard yellow tube top. Okay, so maybe yellow was a bit of a bold colour choice, but it still seemed to look okay nonetheless. Grabbing a hair tie, I pulled my hair up into a high ponytail, which I rarely did, and applied some mascara and blush, just so that I looked mildly presentable.

Aro bustled back into my room at human speed, although I hadn't even noticed he'd left. In his hands was a pile of documents and papers, including my passport and birth certificate.

"Eliana Sofie Arrowood, what a delightful name," he mused, smiling happily at the document, and placed it in a folder, which was then placed in a binder, which was then placed in a briefcase, which was then handed to Demetri for safe keeping.

With a loud thud, Fernando appeared on my windowsill, as relaxed as ever.

"I'm going to miss you, you obese ball of fluff," I cooed, squeezing my cat so hard that he let out a quiet squeak, "Mind you, your obesity is probably my fault, thank ten year old me overfeeding you."

"Oh, _tesoro_, you do make me laugh," Marcus chuckled behind me and placed a kiss on my shoulder.

Jane suddenly materialised on the edge of my windowsill beside Fernando and seemed pleasantly surprised by him there. "Master, the car is ready whenever you are," she nodded, slightly distracted by my cat who she was now cuddling tightly.

"Thank you Jane, you may go now, my dear," Aro gestured subtly and with that, she disappeared again from my window, "shall we, _bellissima_?"

"_Leggo_," I giggled, leading the way downstairs with my letter for my parents in hand, closely followed by Marcus, Aro, and Caius who was carrying my giant suitcase.

"Are you nervous?" Marcus asked.

I blinked back a tear and tried to ignore the tremble in my breath. "A little, I guess. Most girls only leave home at this age if they're pregnant or something."

As soon as we got to the foot of the stairs, I grabbed a pen from my father's desk and quickly scribbled an extra line on the end of the letter.

_P.S. I'm not pregnant or anything, don't worry, you're not grandparents._

"Is that truly necessary, _carissima_?" Caius raised an eyebrow.

"No, it just gives my parents peace of mind," I shrugged.

Aro lead the way out of the front door, followed by Caius who passed my suitcase over to Afton, and then Marcus. I paused at the door, placing the letter down hesitantly on the side table Noah had almost destroyed in the argument we'd had a few months ago. A warm tear slowly rolled down my cheek, which was caught by a cold hand as Marcus pulled me into his arms.

"It is time, _il mio amore_," he murmured as he placed his hand on the small of my back and led me outside into the humid summer air.

Hastily, I wiped away any remains of tears in my eyes and tried to forget about what I was actually doing here. I forced a smile and strutted over to the 7-seater Range Rover which was parked on my driveway. Caius was already in the passenger seat and Demetri was driving as per usual, while Jane and Afton were sat in the two seats at the very back, and Aro had his head leant against the windowsill in one of the seats in the middle.

I began to climb in but unsurprisingly slipped just before my foot could reach the floor of the car, causing me to hit my shin painfully hard on the doorway. At the back, I noticed Afton poking his head up like some kind of meerkat to take a glimpse at what was happening, only to be yanked back down harshly by the terrifying blonde that is Jane.

"Ah, that hurts like a bitch," I hissed.

Caius' face hardened. "Language, Eliana."

"But it _hurts_!" I whined.

Pulling my leg away to examine it, there was a large graze going horizontally across my shin with a thin trail of blood running down my leg and staining my white socks. _Again with the white socks_. It stung slightly, but that was probably only because there was a little bit of muck inside the cut. Everyone in the car's irises suddenly became pitch black as soon as they smelt the blood, Demetri even wetting his lips subtly.

I laughed awkwardly to try and lift the tension. "No, don't even think about it."

Marcus dashed back inside, reappearing with a small first aid kit from my kitchen. Sitting me on the edge of the seat with my legs outside the car, he cleaned the wound with a cloth and placed a plaster over it. God, I felt like such a five year old.

"You just can't help it, can you?" Afton laughed.

"What can I say? I'm accident prone. Why do you think my father wouldn't let me go on my school's ski trip in the French Alps?" I shrugged before wincing a little, "I probably would've injured myself before we even got there."

I scooted over to beside Aro, but he seemed more interested in the faint blood stain that still remained on my shin. "May I?"

"What? Lick my shin? If you must," I giggled, assuming he was joking.

Far from it. He pulled my leg onto his lap and ran his tongue across part of the faint trail of red liquid.

"_Deliziosa_, just as I expected," he murmured, licking his lips.

In a swift blur of movement, Caius had taken a drop on his finger and licked it quickly. "_Incredibile_."

I rolled my eyes. "You're all just as bad as each other, geez," I chuckled, "anyone else for a drop of my blood as a road trip snack?"

Marcus swiped another drop with a grin on his face. It looked like Demetri, Jane, and Afton were all tempted but managed to keep their instincts in gear, leaving Aro to happily clean up the remaining blood on my skin. If this was going be my life for the next three years, god help me.

* * *

It was about half way through the drive to the airport when I felt my phone buzz in my pocket. Pulling it out, I saw a message from none other than Afton, who was literally sat right behind me.

_I'm bored.  
There's nothing to do in this goddamn car.  
And thanks to you, my throat's now burning.  
So thanks._

_This is from Jane. Eli, the scent of your blood is still in the car. It's unbearable. I hope you're very happy with yourself, Little Miss Human. _

The message was followed by a series of eye roll and hungry emojis, as well as several inappropriate food emojis which I assumed were from Afton.

"Who sent that?" Aro startled me a little, leant over my shoulder.

"No one," I lied.

Not taking that as an answer, he swiped his hand across mine and read my thoughts within an instant. "Jane? Afton?"

"Yes Master?" Jane inclined her head.

"Why are you sending messages of an inappropriate nature to Eliana?" he asked.

I would've stopped him and insisted it was simply for entertainment, but I was genuinely curious as to why they were talking so much all of a sudden.

"She seemed bored, so we were trying to keep her entertained, Master," Afton explained.

"Do not step out of line, Afton," Caius warned sternly.

"Master, let the records show that the idea of these messages solely derived from Afton," Jane sneered.

"But you too did send a message to my mate regardless, my dear," Aro spoke calmly.

"Told you!" Afton laughed.

"Afton," Aro snapped.

He glanced down at the phone in his lap. "My sincerest apologies, Master."

I couldn't help but laugh, but I quickly placed a hand over my mouth. Pulling my phone back out, I decided to type a reply to them.

_What you gonna do about it? _

_I don't like you, El._

_The feeling is mutual bitch hahaha_

_Interior crocodile alligator_

I turned around and looked at him weirdly. Was he really referencing vines now?

_I drive a Chevrolet movie the-ate-her_

_And they were roommates_

_Oh my god they were roommates._

_I wanna be a cowboy baby_

_HELL YEAHHHH!_

_Why the fuck you lyin'_

_Why you always lyin'_

_Mmm oh my god_

_Stahp fucking lying!_

Without any warning, Aro grabbed my phone from my hand and placed it in the inside pocket of his black velvet jacket. I tried to reach in for it but he just laughed at my weak attempt.

"Already trying to get under my clothes, I see," he teased.

I whacked him lightly on his chest. "Can I have my phone back now?"

"What on earth were you both sending to each other?" Marcus asked us both confusedly.

I paused. "Vines?"

"Vines? What are these 'vines'?"

I giggled. "I'll show you later. Now, can I have it back then?"

"I will return this to you when I believe you will be more sensible with it," Aro replied.

"How was I not being sensible?" I asked exasperatedly.

He seemed amused. "Allow me to read you just some of these messages: 'Interior crocodile alligator', 'I drive a Chevrolet movie theatre-"

"It's pronounced _thee-ate-her_," I interrupted, "and interior is pronounced 'in-tear-ee-ay'."

"Eliana, I have spoken the English language for much longer than you, so I think I would know," he quipped.

"What, are you saying that I can't speak my own language?" I acted genuinely offended.

Fortunately, he wasn't making any physical contact with me so he didn't realise I was winding him up. "No, no, I was only saying that I would have a better idea of pronunciation-"

"Wow," I breathed a disbelieving chuckle, "you really think that just because you're older than me, you can tell me how to speak my own language?"

He paused. "N-no, I just-"

"You just what? Think you're smarter than me?"

"Of course not, I-I-"

I burst out laughing, soon joined by Marcus and Caius who had caught on much faster than him. He was a little confused at first, but eventually clocked it.

"Aro, I'm just teasing, you should've seen your face-" I cackled, gripping onto my sides.

"That was not funny in any way, Eliana. Good thing I took your mobile phone away when I did," he frowned, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Oh, come on," I leant on his arm, "the only reason you didn't find it funny was because I did it to you."

He was still a little pissed off, but his muscles loosened slightly when I wrapped my arms around his shoulders. "I really never thought you would be that gullible."

"Gullible?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Fun fact about me: I am incapable of keeping a straight face while lying, so the fact that you genuinely thought I was offended says a lot," I laughed.

He placed a hand on the side of my face and his thumb slid down to my lip. "I will get you back for this, trust me."

I narrowed my eyes and nodded sarcastically. "Sure you will."

A gruelling few hours later, we finally made it to the airport ready to fly back to Italy. The four of us were sat in the Volturi's private jet as usual, but this time we were in the smaller plane as the journey was only two or three hours long. Jane, Afton, and Demetri were all sat across the sofa in the corner watching some kind of horror movie containing incessant screaming while I was sat beside Aro, trying and failing to sleep my way through the rest of the journey. Caius and Marcus were both sat opposite us, Marcus looking as bored as ever while Caius was on the brink of losing his temper over the volume of the movie. Honestly, so was I.

Aro looked down at me sympathetically. "Can't sleep?"

I shook my head, curling into his side further. Before I'd even realised it, he pulled me sideways onto his lap beside the window and wrapped his black cloak tightly around us. I watched sorrowfully as we lifted far away from the airport, knowing that was likely my last time in the UK.

"I am sorry you had to go through this, _cara mia_," Aro murmured, pressing a soft kiss to my temple.

"It's fine, I'm excited to be moving in with you, I really am," I assured half-heartedly.

"We cannot wait to have you with us, _carissima_," Caius smiled warmly.

I shot him a quick smile before bringing my knees up tightly to my chest and leaning my head on Aro's chest, the soft hum of his purring slowly drowning out the sounds around me and making my eyelids feel heavy.

* * *

Once I woke up, I could feel a vibrating underneath me, not that of a plane but more of a car. I opened my eyes slowly to be met with darkness, the only proper light being the yellow streetlights which zoomed past the window.

"You are finally awake, _tesoro_," Marcus chuckled from beside me, pulling what felt like a blanket from over me before I realised it was Aro's cloak.

I sat up slightly confused and rubbed at my eyes. "How long was I asleep for?"

"Three hours. We are now in the car, and we will arrive back in Volterra in approximately five minutes," Caius informed me from my other side. Apparently I'd been sleeping across them the entire time and using Caius' lap as a pillow.

"How did I sleep so well?" I giggled.

"You were fast asleep, _carissima_, we could not have woken you up even if we tried," Caius laughed, "Aro carried you out of the aeroplane yet you did not so much as flinch."

I nodded my head, beginning to feel a little queasy. We'd been travelling all day and it wasn't doing any good for my stomach.

"Are you okay, _tesoro_? You seem pale," Marcus tilted his head to the side.

"Yeah," I winced, clutching my stomach, "just a little travel sick."

"Travel sick?" Aro asked.

"Travelling and me don't get along well. I shouldn't throw up though, there are only a few minutes to go," I turned to face Marcus, "Can you please open the window a little?"

"Of course," he tucked stray strand of my hair behind my ear and winded the window down half way so that the night air billowed through the car.

"Do you often get travel sick?" Caius asked me.

"On long journeys, yeah. When I was little, we often had to do long car journeys in stages because otherwise I'd be sick everywhere, which unfortunately did happen a few times," I cringed at the memory, "Fresh air helps though."

A few minutes later, we pulled in to the Volturi's car park for the last time in a while. I was absolutely physically and mentally drained, in need of a good long sleep. The group of us all stumbled into the elevator while I could feel Jane internally dying at the sound of the dated opera music.

Caius wrapped his arms around me from behind. "Are you okay? You still seem ill. Maybe we should give you some medication or take you over to Theodore-"

"I just need sleep," I groaned tiredly.

He shook his head with a chuckle and easily swept me off my feet as soon as we arrived onto my floor, arriving in my familiar bedroom in a split second. The window was wide open which meant the air was still fresh within the room. Caius placed me down on my bed and tucked my covers around me without any rush. Pressing a kiss to my cheek, he pulled the duvet over my exposed shoulder just as I shivered slightly.

"_Dormi bene_, _carissima_," he whispered before disappearing out of the room again in a blur.

I tried so hard to sleep but I couldn't, constantly tossing and turning in my bed. Suddenly, all of my emotions were catching up with me. I had seriously left home, left my family behind. What if I was making the wrong choice? Sure, it was too late now, but what if there was a better way? All the things I wish I'd said, wish I did while I had the chance.

A soft knock sounded from the door and Heidi's hesitant figure approached. "Eli? I heard you crying from the other end of the corridor, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, just…homesick I guess," I sniffled.

"Oh, honey," she cooed, sitting on the edge of the bed and pulling me into her freezing cold embrace, "I can't imagine how hard this must be for you, but we are so excited to have you with us. You are hands down the most exciting addition to the coven we have had."

"I'm not exactly part of the coven yet," I reminded her.

"The coven members are Aro, Caius, Marcus, and you. Sulpicia and Athenadora used to also be part of the coven but, as you know, they've been replaced with a much better female."

"I'm a human, Heidi, humans don't belong in vampire covens," I said.

"You have a secure place in our coven, and our coven is like a weirdly dysfunctional family. As the only female coven member, you're the sarcastic mother, the Masters are like a bunch of psychotic fathers, and the guard are the kids who are out of control," she explained humorously.

"Great," I muttered.

"Eli, I'm sorry to tell you this, but you're like family to us now," she laughed.

I sighed. "The family I never signed up for."

"Exactly, trust me, I promise you won't regret living here with us."

**Author's note: We're edging closer and closer to *the end*, aw. Afton constantly harassing her with texts containing vine references is a mood though, same honestly.  
Translations (any errors are due to Google Translate, not me, but feel free to correct me in anyway :)):  
Dormi bene, carissima - sleep well, dearest  
Anyways, thank you so much for reading, be sure to leave some feedback, stay safe, and ily lots!**


	44. Chapter 44

"You sure you want to do this, dude?"

I was stood in the training room with Santiago, Afton, and Renata, ready to…well…train. Somehow I'd managed to convince them that I was ready enough to fight like a vampire, so Santiago offered to teach me some moves, using Renata to practise on. That morning, I'd chosen an outfit of a pair of beige hiker boots, white sweatpants, and a black tank top.

"I'm so ready," I stood opposite Renata, "karate chop me or something."

"You really have no idea how this works, do you?" Santiago glanced at me, unimpressed.

"Nope, never seen vampires fight before."

"Just call us immortals, little human," he snarled jokingly, "Let's show her, Afton."

Renata and I both hurried out of the way, sitting beside each other on one of the wooden benches at the side. Quicker than my brain could process, Afton leapt at Santiago in a flurry of movement and the two of them seemed to be fighting but all I could see where two dark blobs zooming around each other. After a few seconds, the fight came to a halt as Santiago had Afton pinned to the floor face down with his arm held behind his back.

"And that, Eli, is how it's done," he let go of Afton's arm with a thud and stood up again, leaving Afton to climb to his feet on his own.

"I didn't know what was happening half of the time," I admitted and stepped back over to the floor.

"Faster than the human eye can see," Afton wheezed as he got back to his feet and stepped aside beside Santiago.

"You don't really expect me to do that, right?"

"Obviously not, dude, we'll just be teaching you the basic moves carefully at human speed," he shrugged.

"Like what-"

I screamed in shock as Afton slammed me backwards into the floor, which was fortunately covered with thick padding and mats so that limbs were less likely to go flying. He towered over me with a grin on his face and his hand just below my neck.

"As a rule of thumb, always stay alert. Losing focus loses lives," Santiago shrugged.

"That was harsh, Afton, she's only human," Renata shook her head disapprovingly and helped me back to my feet, but not before sending him flying backwards into the wall.

"Thanks," I blushed timidly and dusted myself off.

"Now," Santiago began, "you'd be surprised how well humans can do in combat with an immortal when they put their mind to it. We may be faster, but there are still a few ways to catch us out which I think you should probably be aware of."

"Seriously?"

"Yes. For example," he took a few steps back opposite me, "I will come to attack you, and I only want you to follow your instincts and save yourself."

"I'm not so sure if this is a good idea," I backed off hesitantly.

"You wanted training, right? We're training dude, don't worry about us hurting you or anything."

"Well, if you insi-"

Santiago quickly became a shadow bolting head on in my direction. My heart started racing and adrenaline rushed though my veins, causing me to leap to the side onto my front with my eyes tightly closed. Somehow, when I opened them, I was still intact, while Santiago had skidded to a halt just before hitting the brick wall.

"How did…?" I sat up and looked around confused.

"You correctly moved away at the very last minute. Due to the momentum our speed comes with, we often struggle to take unplanned sharp changes in direction, which you can easily use to your advantage," he explained.

"So that wasn't just you going easy on me?" I confirmed.

"Okay, so maybe I was more wary than usual, but I was still running at a speed that could've easily injured you if you'd stayed where you were. Aside from dodging any attacks that come your way, there is another way to save your ass, but I don't recommend it."

I stood up and drew my eyebrows together. "What is it?"

"A blow to the crotch is just as painful on vampires as it is humans," he cringed, "Not only is it incorrect form for a fight, but it's embarrassing."

"Huh, I'll keep it in mind for next time you piss me off," I laughed.

The next few hours were spent working slowly through manoeuvres and moves used in combat between immortals. I used Renata as a practise dummy and I must've been slammed into the floor too many times to count, to the point where I had a tingly feeling in my spine. Near the end, she decided to aim a seemingly light round kick at my torso which caused me to skid a few metres across the floor onto my back. I began to stand up again but was too tired too and instead resorted to staring at the ceiling.

"Eli, are you injured?" Afton came running over to my side.

"No, I'm great actually, life is going just swimmingly," I snarked, "What do you think? I was just yeeted across the room, _sir Afton_."

Renata instantly appeared on the other side, helping me to sit up straight. "I'm so sorry El, I didn't realise a kick like that would do that to you."

"Eh, don't worry about it," I waved my hand and began to stand up but winced subtly at a minor sting in my lower back.

"Maybe we should take you to Theo, dude, you took quite a fall," Santiago offered.

"Don't you need an examination done in anyway?" Afton reminded me.

I sighed. "Fine, fine, I'll see a medical professional, but I bet it's absolutely nothing."

* * *

I came to the conclusion that I hated the medical wing. Everything was so white, so empty, so sterilised, it just scared the shit out of me. I was sat on the examination table, still with a slight dull pain in my back which made it a little sore to move. Renata was stood beside me clutching my hand with an apologetic look on her face.

"Well, if it isn't Miss Eliana Arrowood," a bronze-haired doctor with an Australian accent in light blue scrubs strode into the room, "I am Doctor Theodore, but you can call me Theo."

"Hey," I smiled timidly, "how do you already know my name?"

"We have access to all of the medical files the human government holds, and I already have yours saved onto our database," he sat down at his computer and pulled up my information onto the screen, "Are you here for your medical examination?"

"Actually, there's kinda something else," I grimaced.

He spun around on his chair and glanced at Renata pointedly. "What did she do?"

Renata groaned. "How did you know?"

"You have a guilty look on your face, Renata," he shook his head.

"Well, we were training Eli-"

Renata's sentence was interrupted by Theo sighing and holding his head in his hands. "Why?"

"She wanted to be trained, _Theo_," she snapped, "Anyway, so I lightly kicked her in the torso and she slid across the ground on her back."

He tutted at her and turned his gaze to me. "Do you have any trouble moving? Any pain, ache, or numbness?"

"It's a little difficult to move around at my lower back, and it aches a little when I sit down," I explained.

The door suddenly burst open and Caius came storming into the room. If looks could kill, Renata would've been mutilated by now. The fuming blonde came to stand beside me with his cold hand on my leg possessively.

"Renata, what came over you to make such a reckless decision?! You dared foolishly to bring harm to my mate!" he bellowed.

"Caius, it's fine," I placed my hand over his, "I told her to train me. It was just an accident, I'm honestly okay."

"We will decide if you are okay after I have examined you," Theo corrected, gesturing Renata out of the door.

Once Renata had left guiltily, Theo proceeded to examine my back, while Caius sat tense in the chair beside his desk. _Damn it, why do these things always happen to me?_

"As I thought," Theo stood up straight, "fortunately, you've only strained your lower back. You should be back to full health in less than a week. For now, ice that area of your back for 20 minutes every 4 hours for the next few days. Try to take it easy for today and tomorrow, but the more exercises you do to strengthen your back, the better."

He quickly placed an ice pack on my back, and I gasped in surprise.

"Ooh, that's quite nice actually, thanks," I giggled.

Caius growled quietly and flitted over to sit beside me on the table, holding the ice pack to my skin while burying his face in my hair. At that moment, Aro and Marcus both also entered the room as hurriedly as possible. _Great, my short visit to the medical wing has become a group field trip._

"Oh, _cara mia_, are you alright? Santiago informed us you injured your back, you had us incredibly worried," Aro cooed and pulled me into his arms, my head held against his chest.

"Luckily for Eliana here, she only suffered from a simple back strain. She will have completely recovered after a week," Theo assured.

"What are you like?" Marcus mused to himself with a chuckle, sitting on the other side of me while Aro stood beside the table.

"While we are here, would you mind if we verify your records now?" Theo asked.

"Sure," I bounced slightly but then winced in pain. _Smart move Eli._

"Be careful, _carissima_," Caius murmured.

"Quite right, take it easy today Eliana," Theo began scrolling through the details on his screen, "It appears you have somehow never had a blood test carried out, but I will fill you in as O positive now," he tapped away at his keyboard, "Do you still suffer from hayfever?"

"Yes," I answered simply.

"And do you take antihistamine for it?"

"Sometimes, during high pollen season."

"When you need some, feel free to come to my office at any time," he smiled, "Have you experienced any head injuries in the past?"

I paused. "Not that I know of," I replied hesitantly.

"She was hit in the face with a basketball when she was eleven years old, but only suffered from a mild concussion," Aro told him. How did he- _oh._

Theo busily typed away at his keyboard while my mates all laughed quietly at my embarrassed face. Why did Aro have to know everything?

"Would you mind if you take your boots off so I can measure your weight and height?" he asked.

"Uh sure," I pulled off my boots and stepped over to the scales. It only gave me dark flashbacks to having my BMI calculated while I was still at school when I was little.

He quickly took measurements. "That is 127lbs in weight and 5'5" in height, you seem to have grown a few inches since your records were last updated," he dashed back over to his computer to fill in the details, "finally, I'd like to check your teeth to see if those wisdom teeth of yours have grown in yet."

"You're a dentist?" I raised an eyebrow.

"I am the medical professional here," he shrugged, gesturing me over to a dentist's chair on the other side of the large white room.

Marcus seemed to find it hilarious how I was lying uncomfortably with my mouth open on the reclining chair while Theo had a medical mask and latex gloves on and poked around at my teeth with a metal probe and mirror. It got to the point where my jaw was seriously getting tired and I just wanted this whole visit to be over.

Theo chuckled. "Going anywhere on holiday this year?"

I attempted to respond with 'god I hate dentists', but my sentence came out as a series of 'ahs' and 'ehs', which only fuelled Marcus' amusement.

Aro briefly held my hand in his much colder one. "Eliana says, 'god I hate dentists'."

"That's a new one," Theo humoured, pulling the mask and gloves off, "Well, your top set of wisdom teeth are now partially erupted. If they cause any problems in the future, we could consider wisdom tooth surgery, but that is nothing to worry about for now."

Caius' eyes widened with concern as he gripped my hand tightly. "Surgery?"

"Don't worry, Master, it is not a particularly invasive surgery. She would be given a local anaesthetic which would numb the area, the procedure itself only taking approximately twenty minutes."

"Do I need wisdom tooth surgery then?" I asked him.

"I doubt it, but we will see in the future," he smiled warmly, "That is it, _be free my child_," he joked.

I moved my jaw a little. "_Freedom_," I leapt to my feet, instantly regretting it from the sharp pain that shot through my spine.

"Please take care of yourself, _tesoro_, the last thing we need from you is yet another injury," Marcus tutted disapprovingly.

Caius appeared at my side with my boots in his hand, an arm wrapped around my waist for support. "Let us go back to my quarters."

I nodded, hobbling along beside him. "Thank you, Theo!" I called behind me.

* * *

Caius led me by my hand along a different corridor, one I'd never gone down before. It was one of the lower floors, just above the car park, but still underground.

"Caius? Where are we going?" I asked him.

He turned his head back to me with a smirk on his face. "You will see."

We stopped at a door at the end of one of the cold stone corridors and he pushed it open easily before flicking on the fluorescent lights. Inside was what I assumed to be an art studio, an incredible one at that. The only furniture in the room was a white sofa in the middle which was covered in the odd paint splatter, various acrylic paints and brushes littered the stained wooden floor and all four of the walls were covered in breathtaking murals, all except one which looked like it was only half complete.

I stood there with my mouth open like a fish, earning a light chuckle. "I have wanted to show you my private art studio for some time now, _carissima_. Aside from myself, Aro and Marcus are the only ones who have ever been in here, and only ever for a few moments."

"Damn, for a second I thought these were photos," I laughed, gesturing to the walls.

He had a smug expression on his face as he bent down to pick up a discarded paint palette and brush. Placing the items back down on the sofa beside where I had settled, he proceeded to quickly pull off his button up, leaving him completely shirtless. I didn't even realise I was staring at his perfectly defined torso until he turned around with a smug grin and I looked away bashfully.

He chuckled. "Like what you see, _carissima_?"

"You work shirtless then?" I giggled.

"It helps me focus. Care to join?" he offered.

"In being shirtless? I'll pass for now, thanks," I blushed.

"I am sure I can get you to change your mind," he raised an eyebrow cheekily, "Would you like to help me paint?"

"Oh, babe, I know nothing about painting," I laughed, "You saw the stick figure I drew in your sketchbook that one time."

"I still have that somewhere," he mused, "I will teach you," he insisted, pulling me to my feet by my arms.

My back was still a little sore but not as bad as earlier, funnily enough. "So, what do I do?"

In front of us was a painting of some kind of mountain landscape which took up the entire length of the wall. The patience he had to have used to paint each individual leaf on those pine trees, wow, no wonder he was always so snappy and impatient. Over the next half an hour, Caius tried to teach me how to paint, using all of the different techniques and brushstrokes he'd learnt over the years. I was honestly hopeless though, and gave up after a few minutes.

"You have a little paint on your face," I told him light-heartedly.

"Where?"

"Here."

I attempted to wipe the smudge off with my thumb, forgetting that my thumb was covered in blue paint. It was already too late though, a blue streak marked across his left cheek. I gasped, instantly feeling my cheeks heat up. I began to frantically apologise before he took a small droplet of yellow paint on his thumb and wiped it across my nose.

He chuckled. "Yellow suits you, _cara_."

I rolled my eyes, gazing back over at the mural. "You're talented…for an albino bunny."

With an aggravated growl, he crashed his lips against mine, backing me up into the sofa while edging my top off me. _Goddamn it, why did I open my mouth?_

**Author's note: Oh my god my mum accidentally found out about my fanfic and now my entire family are saying how proud of me they are for having such an excellent hobby skdjsksjs.  
Anyway, irrelevant point out of the way, when I was writing the dialogue for Theo, maybe it was just because I was tired, but I could only imagine him with a thicc Australian accent, so you're welcome.  
Thank you so much for reading, be sure to leave some feedback because I love your comments ahh, stay safe, and ily lots!**


	45. Chapter 45

I knocked hesitantly on the door to Aro's office after Afton told me that I'd been requested down there over twenty minutes before. Why everyone in the Volturi's timekeeping was so fucking terrible, I had no idea.

After a few awkward minutes of standing there and not bothering to knock again because I knew they heard, Aro's voice echoed from inside. "Do come in."

I opened the door and walked in with my hands in my pockets, closing it softly behind me. Aro's face lit up when he saw me and I couldn't help the smile that crept onto my face.

"_Il mio amore_, just let yourself in next time, there is no need to knock," he gestured happily over to the sofa.

"You wanted to see me?" I asked curiously as I sat myself down on Caius' lap with my legs across Marcus'.

"We always want to see you, _tesoro_," Marcus chuckled and pulled my shoes off my feet for me before tossing them across the room lazily.

"How is your back doing, _carissima_?" Caius asked.

I tilted my head backwards to glance up at his crimson eyes with a giggle. "Great, completely back to normal now."

"Ah, that is brilliant to hear," Aro grinned, "but please, in the future, do not injure yourself like that, and do not insist on the guard training you as if you were immortal. When we heard you'd hurt your back and you were in the medical wing, it gave us the fright of our lives, not to be dramatic."

"Clearly Afton left out the part about it only being a small strain," I chuckled lightly.

"Anyway, we have _notizie interessanti_," he clapped his hands together.

I stared at him blankly before Marcus translated. "Exciting news."

"Oh," I my eyes widened in realisation, "go on."

"The cloaks we had tailored for you finally arrived," Aro pulled out a pile of black and red fabric proudly, setting it down on his desk.

"I get cloaks?" I asked excitedly.

"Yes, these three cloaks have been made to fit your flawless figure perfectly, _bellissima_. Here you will find two simple black cloaks, to be worn for certain trials, meetings, visits, and such, and one cloak lined with red fur for any outings or tasks you find yourself on."

He took my hands in his and easily pulled me up from Caius' lap, much to Caius' disappointment, as he picked up one of the plain black cloaks from the top of the pile. Within an instant, he'd pulled the dark fabric around me and was fastening the cloak around my neck. For some reason, I couldn't draw myself away from staring at his perfect lips, which he noticed before pressing a soft kiss to mine with a chuckle.

"How do I look?" I giggled.

He stood back and looked me up and down warmly. "_Incredibile_, _cara mia_."

A blush spread across my cheeks and I hid my face in his chest. He wrapped his arms tightly around my waist and held me flush against him, tilting my chin upwards with his finger.

"Thanks," I glanced down sheepishly with a timid smile.

He pressed his lips to mine with one hand at the back of my head, entangled into my hair. "You are most welcome, _cara mia_."

"Do we not receive a 'thank you' as well?" Caius' voice chimed in from behind.

"Of course, how rude of me," I giggled.

Pulling away from Aro's arms, I stepped over to Caius and brought my lips to his, tracing his perfectly defined cheekbones with my right hand. Without any warning, he pushed me onto the sofa on my back between him and Marcus so that he was hovering above me. I let out a startled whimper as he crashed his lips against mine before Marcus rolled me out from underneath him with ease so that I was lying on top of his torso and between his legs. His hand ran down the length of my body from my shoulder, settling down over my ass.

"Your cloak truly does suit you, _tesoro_," he chuckled, pressing a kiss to my nose.

"Oh, and one last thing," Aro began and I turned my head around to face him, "Do you remember when I mentioned Eleazar from the Denali coven a few weeks ago?" I nodded. "He will be visiting briefly today with his coven in order to detect any gifts you may possess. I do believe they are due to arrive in," he glanced down at his watch. "Twenty minutes."

"Should I maybe go and change out of this?" I gestured to my ridiculously inappropriate grey shorts and sports bra.

"Something more appropriate for our guests would be preferable, _bellissima_, yes. I will have Renata escort you to the throne room just before they arrive."

* * *

"Will this do?" I asked Renata.

I'd changed into a simple black mid-thigh length dress with a sweetheart neckline and a dark burgundy ribbon tied around the middle, with a pair of black flats and my hair braided loosely down my back. Feeling a little too dressed-up, I grabbed a brown leather jacket from my wardrobe and placed it over the top.

"You look amazing as always, but no heels?" she glanced pointedly at my feet.

"I really don't have the coordination for heels," I laughed.

She rolled her eyes. "Let's go then," Renata took my arm and began leading me down the corridor, "I am curious to see how this will go."

"Why?" I asked.

She sighed. "The Volturi and the Denalis have somewhat of a…dark history, you could say. They are very close friends with the Cullens though, so maybe you also being close to them might make things less awkward?"

My heartbeat began to pick up the pace a little and I was beginning to have second thoughts about this whole visit. It was too late for that though as we had already arrived at the throne room. Marcus and Caius were both seated in their respective thrones as usual, while Aro was pacing slightly anxious lengths of the marble floor. _Should I be nervous?_

I awkwardly darted past the nervous Aro and stood beside Marcus' throne. He shot me a warm smile, taking my hand in his and curling his fingers around mine. "There is no need to feel nervous, _tesoro_."

Those words calmed me instantly just as the doors to the room swung open. Demetri stepped to the side, allowing the five vampires into the throne room.

Aro clapped his hands together and forced a smile. "Eleazar, my good friend, it is a pleasure to see you again."

The man who I assumed to be Eleazar had short black hair, a pale complexion, and very angular features. Behind him stood a dark haired woman, both of them with the trademark veggie-vamp eyes. Funnily enough, the whole group had irises of liquid gold, their gazes darting around the room nervously. Most nervous of all were the three blonde women at the back. They were unbelievably gorgeous, granted, but also seemed absolutely terrified out of their skin and itching to leave the castle.

"You too, Aro," he nodded politely as Aro took his hand and briefly skimmed through his thoughts, "You needed a favour?"

"Yes, in fact."

He gestured subtly for Marcus to come down. I held Marcus' hand nervously like a small child on their first day of school, standing behind him as a blush spread on my cheeks. He squeezed my hand lightly in reassurance and gently nudged me forward to Aro's side.

"This is Eliana," Aro gestured to me and placed a hand on my shoulder as I waved with an awkward grin, "Eliana is the true mate of mine, Caius, and Marcus."

The coven's faces became that not only of shock, probably because of just how weak and naïve I seemed while waving at a bunch of deadly vampires like a complete dork, but also of disbelief. Glancing behind them, I noticed Afton internally chuckling and he mouthed the word 'dork' to me.

"How is that possible?" The dark haired woman spoke up.

"This fact confounds us all, my dear Carmen. Eliana is to be transformed soon so, if it is okay with you Eleazar, would you mind identifying any ability she may possess?" Aro requested politely.

"Of course," Eleazar turned his attention to me, extending a hand, "It is lovely to meet you, Eliana."

"You too," I smiled timidly and shook his cold hand.

"Would you please step back into that empty space there for me?" he pointed behind Carmen.

"Sure," I giggled awkwardly and took a few steps back, accidentally bumping into Carmen, "sorry, sorry."

"No need to apologise," she smiled warmly and stepped to the side to join the rest of her coven.

Eleazar's eyes instantly glazed over similarly to how Aro's did as he stood two metres in front of me with his head tilted downwards, concentrating on me solely. This lasted for a few seconds before he broke the concentration and looked at me curiously.

"What?" I asked with a nervous chuckle.

"You have a gift of incredible strength, Eliana, but I cannot see what it is," he cocked his head to the side and resumed his concentrated stare.

This time he looked much more focused and driven than before, making me feel slightly uneasy. After a few silent moments, he collapsed onto the floor and I jumped backwards with a gasp. Carmen and the rest of the coven began to help him back to his feet and he managed to stand up fine as if nothing had happened.

"What was that?" the curly blonde haired woman asked worriedly.

"Oh geez, I'm so sorry, did I do that? I didn't mean to, I swear," my eyebrows drew together and my eyes widened in concern.

"There is no need to apologise, Eliana. Your gift is like nothing I have ever encountered before," he studied me in incredulity, "I have not seen strength in a gift like that since I first met Jane and Alec. In fact, I do believe yours is stronger than theirs. Yet somehow, I do not know what type of gift you possess. It's like a dark void, all I see is…darkness."

"Darkness? Oh my," I breathed in sharply.

"_Magnifico_," Aro murmured to himself.

"Darkness? What's that supposed to mean?" the woman with pin straight blonde hair asked before turning her gaze to me, "I'm Kate by the way."

"Nice to meet you," I nodded with a sheepish smile.

"I have never seen anything like it. It is not like that of a shield, but something physically damaging. It managed to harm me just by looking for it," Eleazar explained.

"Are you certain of what you saw?" Marcus chimed in much to their surprise, placing a hand on my shoulder.

Eleazar nodded in response. "I am intrigued to see what will become of your gift, Eliana."

"Good, because I'm seriously dreading it at this point," I laughed.

"Could it be umbrakinesis?" Carmen suggested.

"Umbrakinesis?" I questioned.

"It's the manipulation of shadows and darkness," the curly haired blonde explained softly, "I am Tanya, it's lovely to meet you."

I shot her a timid smile. "You too."

"I've met a nomad with umbrakinesis before. This is completely different, as if where her ability should be, there is a void, there is nothing," Eleazar appeared to confuse himself at his own words.

_Great, so now I was the mystery gift. What joy._

"Should I be worried or…" I trailed off nervously.

"There is no need to be, _bellissima_," Aro assured, holding both of my hands in his, "thank you again for your time, Eleazar."

"Not an issue. I apologise if I was not of much assistance," Eleazar turned his attention to me, "you have a gift that is beyond even my expertise."

"Again, I'm sorry about the whole…making you keel over in pain," I winced.

"That was my bad, it couldn't be helped. I wish you the best for the future, Eliana, and I hope our paths cross again soon," he smiled warmly as Demetri and Felix began escorting them to the doors.

"You too," I added shyly. _Damn it, I need to come up with a new response other than 'you too'._

"Demetri, please take our guests to the reception area to wait until nightfall. It has been lovely having you here, my dear friends," Aro exclaimed gleefully, "I hope to see you again soon."

"Thank you for your hospitality, Aro," Eleazar called behind him politely, closely followed by the rest of the nervous coven.

Once the doors were finally closed behind them, I exhaled a deep breath I hadn't even realised I was holding. A pair of cold arms quickly wrapped tightly around my shoulders from behind, and I could tell from the white blonde hair dangling in front of my face and the familiar scent of firewood and acrylic paint that it was Caius. He purred lightly into my ear, calming all of my senses.

"That was a rather interesting turn of events," Aro remarked.

"I seriously didn't mean to hurt him, it was an accident-"

"I know, _bellissima_, do not fret," he reassured, cupping my cheek with his hand and smoothing his thumb along my cheekbone.

"So, whatever my ability is, it will hurt people?" I raised my eyebrows, concerned.

Marcus stepped over and pressed a kiss to my temple. "Do not worry about that, _tesoro_. We will keep you safe."

* * *

A few weeks passed since the Denali's eventful visit. Just before they left, I'd introduced myself to the coven properly, and they seemed nice enough. The next few weeks went by painfully, with not much to do except hang around with the guard, and I'd even made a new hobby of riding down the spiral staircases of the castle in a cardboard box.

Corin and Chelsea were both sat bored with me in my room, randomly scrolling through their phones while I did the same. I suddenly remembered something and gasped.

They looked to me in unison. "What?"

"Group shopping trip!" I bounced up and down on my bed excitedly.

"Oh my god, how did we forget?" Chelsea squealed.

Corin gasped. "We should go tomorrow, make a day out of it!"

Chelsea turned her attention to me. "Have you been shopping in Volterra?"

"Not yet, is there anything good?" I asked.

"They have so many designer stores around, and don't you have that unlimited credit card from the Masters?"

I pointed to the card which was sat on my vanity. The kings had gotten it for me so that I could buy whatever I wanted, insisting that 'our money is your money'.

"Perfect, you can never have too much clothes," Chelsea clapped her hands joyously.

"Never?" I eyed her sceptically.

"_Never_."

**Author's note: This chapter was kinda weird to write for some reason, I don't know. Anyway, what do you think Eli's gift will be? I sort of wanted to incorporate maybe a slight friendship between her and the Denalis as well. Damn, there's literally only five chapters left which is depressing as fuckkkk but it's fine, I'm not crying you are.  
Anyway, thank you so much for reading, be sure to leave some feedback because I love hearing your thoughts, stay safe, and ily lots!**


	46. Chapter 46

Unlike all of my other wake ups, someone had shaken me awake a little too hard, forgetting I was human, which caused me to roll out of bed and onto the floor with a loud 'oof'. Glancing up, I saw an apologetic Corin standing above me, her sleek blonde hair braided neatly out of her face.

She quickly pulled me to my feet and dusted me off. "Sorry, I forget you're human."

"…easy mistake?" my sentence came out as a question, "What time is it?"

She glanced at her watch. "7:30, it's best to get an early start so we can go to as many shops as we can today."

Chelsea immediately burst into the room dramatically in a pair of white paperbag shorts, a dark grey camisole, and a thin white cardigan, with a beige wide brim hat. She looked like she'd just come out of some kind of summer fashion magazine with her dark handbag swung over her shoulder. _Goddamn, I wish I was that pretty._

"Who's ready for shopping?" she squealed, "I'm so happy the weather is so cloudy and miserable today so I can finally wear this out!"

"You look nice," I mused tiredly, "really suits you…" I trailed off with a yawn.

"Thanks Eli, what are you wearing?"

I pursed my lips together and bustled over to my wardrobe. After pondering over my choices for a while, I settled on a white spaghetti strap tank top and a light blue plaid mini skirt which ended on my upper thigh. I wasn't given much time to prepare to leave for the day before being ushered out of my door by the two childish vampires I was to go shopping with, so I simply stuffed my credit card, my phone, some snacks I'd stashed away in a drawer earlier, and my sunglasses into a simple light pink handbag which I placed over my right shoulder and followed them out of the door.

Walking down the empty corridor, we didn't bump into anyone really minus the odd lower guard, but I already assumed one of the two crazy vampires in front of me had already informed someone of our girls trip. Instead of leaving discreetly down the underground tunnel system, we exited the building through the front doors straight into the town square with the stone water fountain in the middle. Both Chelsea and Corin had their crests hidden underneath their tops but kept them on just in case. Apparently, removing the crest was forbidden, and if it were to get lost, no replacement would be provided, which explained why the guard all held onto theirs so tightly.

"Where should we go first?" Corin asked excitedly.

"I know a shop that sells incredible dresses," Chelsea squealed, one hand grabbing each of our arms and dragging us along behind her. Something told me this was going to be a long day.

* * *

Rafael rushed at full speed into the throne room where the kings were all sat in their respective thrones boredly. Marcus seemed vaguely interested in something he saw out of the small window overlooking Volterra, while Caius continued to scowl into the distance at nothing in particular. Aro sighed, turning his gaze to the guard that stood before him.

"What is it, Rafael?" he asked calmly but with a clear irritated tone underneath it.

"Masters, Eliana is not in her quarters and I cannot find her anywhere in the grounds. Chelsea and Corin have both gone as well without any explanation, and none of them are answering their phones," Rafael explained.

All three kings expressions suddenly became very alarmed, their eyeballs almost falling out of their sockets.

"WHAT?!" Caius stood up angrily, his irises already darkened with fury and rage. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN, SHE HAS GONE?!"

Marcus instantly bolted off out of the room, his brothers trailing just behind. They all stopped at their mate's quarters; the door was wide open, yet she usually hated having the door open. Stepping inside, they inhaled her familiar, sweet, reassuring scent, but she was absolutely nowhere to be seen. As they all glanced around the room, they realised that not only had she left, but she had taken her immediate valuables with her, including her phone and credit card. Marcus turned on her bond sight and saw the familiar gold ties stretching away from the walls of the castle and into the distance, beginning to dim slightly on their end.

She'd left them? Just like that? Without any explanation? No, it couldn't be true. But it was, this didn't make any sense.

Caius was furious, furious that his own guard were so incompetent that they couldn't fulfil a simple task of protecting his mate, furious at his ungrateful, childish mate for leaving him as if he meant nothing to her. God, he should've placed her in the tower while he had the chance.

Aro was desperate to find her, to bring her back to him. She was his property, she belonged to him. How dare she leave him? He had been nothing but kind and patient to her. After everything he'd done for her, all the love he'd shown her, and this was how she repaid him?

Marcus, meanwhile, was completely distraught. First Didyme, and now his sweet, innocent little Eliana? Fate was cruel, too cruel, but he would find her and bring her back to him if it was the last thing he did.

The brothers appeared back in the throne room where the guard were all gathered patiently, awaiting instructions. Strangely enough, Marcus was the one to give them.

"You will find Eliana, and you will bring her back to us unharmed immediately. Go."

* * *

"Corin, opinions on this," Chelsea, held a deep red a-line skirt up to her body and glanced at her reflection in the mirror.

"It's cute, Chels, and fits dress code," Corin responded happily.

"Eli, what do you think?" Chelsea asked me.

"I like it, brings out the colour in your eyes," I shrugged with a giggle.

"You think? Thanks," she shot a warm smile and carried the stack of clothes she was holding over to the blonde Italian woman at the counter.

I stood there impatiently holding several small white shopping bags in my hands from designer brands like Gucci and Prada. I must've already bought maybe a thousand Euros worth of clothes, but I regretted nothing. Honestly, I hadn't had this much fun shopping in a long time. I'd been talked into buying many new dresses, a leather jacket, and even a pair of black stiletto heels which I knew I'd regret soon after.

Corin was busy skimming through the sales rack and jokingly holding up the most hideous items she could find, including a pair of brown jeans, and not a nice shade of brown either.

I gasped and placed a hand on my forehead melodramatically. "Absolutely gorgeous, boo," I teased.

She flipped her hair behind her back with a perfect smile, somehow still looking like a supermodel in anyway, and continued searching through some truly atrocious garments. _Geez, no wonder they're on sale_. Once Chelsea had finally paid for the addition to her clothing haul, she hooked arms with each of us and led us out of the store down the cobbled lanes of Volterra. To other people, we probably looked like those perfect friends in magazines, all dressed in expensive outfits strutting down through Volterra with designer shopping bags and grins on our faces.

We took a right turn up a narrower, quieter alleyway, which was where Rafael suddenly appeared out of nowhere. I jumped up in fright, placing a hand over my fast-beating heart.

"Oh geez, you scared me," I panted.

"What do you need, _Rafael_?" Chelsea snarked and took the piss out of his name, "In case you haven't noticed, this is a girl's shopping trip. You can join us if you want-"

Without warning, two other guards I hadn't seen before each grabbed Chelsea and Corin while Rafael held my arm tightly. They began forcefully walking us further up the alleyway and around the back of the streets, much to my annoyance.

I tried to shake him off but failed. "I can walk by myself," I turned my nose up at him.

He simply ignored my statement and continued for the castle. I continuously asked what the hell was happening as well as the other two, but we weren't given a single response, which was really pissing me off. The kings had better have a solid reason for dragging me out of my girl's day.

Once we finally arrived in the usual marble throne room, Chelsea and Corin were quickly dragged away out of the room and down the corridor by two other guards. I wondered where Felix or Demetri were, but more importantly why the fuck they were being manhandled like that without explanation.

Rafael quickly shoved me forwards carelessly towards my mates so that I almost fell flat on my face. "Oi, watch it, you crazy ass vampire," I snapped before turning my gaze back to them irritatedly, "What the hell is happening?"

"We will ask the questions here, girl. You truly _dared_ to run away from us on a whim, just like that?" Aro seethed, almost trembling in anger. His piercing gaze alone made me want to cower away in fear, but I somehow managed to stand my ground. And 'girl'? When had my title been demoted to 'girl'? What memo did I miss?

I stood there confused. Didn't the Gucci shopping bags in my hands explain where I was? "W-what? I was just-"

"After everything we have done for you!" Caius piped up with open aggression. "We provided you with a castle, wealth, respect, and you dare to leave us, you ungrateful, spoilt, childish brat?!"

What the hell had they been told? I thought Chelsea and Corin already told them about our shopping trip. But how dare he call me a brat. God, if I wasn't a human, I would rip that little scowl right off his face. I was practically shaking with fury at this point. Why the fuck were they being so goddamn unreasonable? Even Marcus was giving me the most hurt, heart-wrenching expression possible.

"No, you don't understand, I-"

"No, you don't understand!" Aro shouted suddenly, startling me. His eyes were full of nothing but rage which scared the hell out of me, and this time a kiss definitely wasn't going to make this problem disappear. "We have been nothing but kind and patient to you, you insolent girl, and this is how you thank us? Take her away!" he demanded.

I gasped, too in shock to form any actual coherent words. 'Take her away'? Who the fuck did they think I was? Some kind of pet they could order around and send wherever they pleased? Jesus Christ, I was shopping, _shopping_!

Santiago quickly materialised beside me and hooked his arm around mine, leading me backwards out of the room much more carefully and gentler than Rafael had done before which I did appreciate. I honestly couldn't remember a time I wanted to cry that much before in my life and, from the looks of things, my mates weren't going to be the ones to fix this problem.

**Author's note: I apologise if this chapter is short word count wise, but a lot happens in it soooo yeah. Do you think the kings are being irrational? I mean, damn, all the poor girl wanted to do was shop. I tried to keep how they would react to this whole thing in character, so I hope this chapter doesn't sound too stupid.  
Anyway, thank you so much for reading, be sure to leave some feedback because I love to hear your thoughts, stay safe, and ily lots!**


	47. Chapter 47

Once the door was closed behind me, I slid down onto the floor and pulled my knees up to my chest, hot tears slowly dropping onto the light fabric of my skirt one by one. It didn't take long for the faint drops to grow to floods streaming down my face and smudging my mascara across my cheeks.

They didn't even give me a chance to explain, to apologise for worrying them. Why were they being like this? Why was I being locked away in my own home? At that point, I wanted nothing more than to be back at my actual home, regretting the decision I'd made to come here. What was I thinking? I didn't really belong in Italy, I was a pathetic weak human, no wonder they wanted to lock me up.

Stumbling to my feet, I decided to open my door in the faint hope that I would be able to at least leave my room, but alas both Santiago and Afton were stood directly in front of the door. Santiago turned around to me and cocked his head to the side confusedly.

"Um, can I leave?" I asked. Stupid question really, I knew the answer at this point.

"I'm afraid not, dude," Santiago gave me an apologetic look.

"Can I bribe you? I'll give you my credit card," I pleaded.

He sighed. "We've been put under strict orders to ensure you are kept inside this room for the next 72 hours."

My eyes widened in shock and I mumbled something completely incomprehensible.

"W-w-w-can you come in?"

A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "Master Aro didn't explicitly order us not to."

I stepped to the side and pulled the door further open to allow Santiago and Afton in. Afton seemed much quieter and less bubbly than usual which put even more of a dampener on my mood.

Santiago studied my face quickly. "You have black marks on your face."

"I know," my voice was still slightly quivered.

"Just saying," he shrugged, sitting himself down on a beanbag beside Afton.

"How can you be so calm about this?"

"Hm?" Of course he wasn't listening.

"I've just been locked away in my room for the next three days like some kind of fucking zoo animal, and you're so calm about it like everything's handy-dandy!" I snapped, instantly regretting yelling at the only company I had for the next 72 hours, "Why am I here?"

"Well, the Masters thought you tried to run away. Of course, none of the guard believed it, but Rafael the shit-stirrer managed to convince them of it," Santiago explained.

"But why didn't Aro just touch my hand? Why were they acting so irrational?"

"Why Aro didn't touch your hand and use his ability, I don't know. Eli, you should've seen just how stressed they were when they didn't find you in here this morning. They weren't thinking straight at all, I'd never seen them like that. The guard were so worried about them, but also about what they'd do to you once you came back. But there's a reason they were acting so irrational."

There was an unnecessary pause. "You gonna tell me the reason or are we going to sit here and stare at each other?"

"Staring works," he tried to joke, but I wasn't in the mood for games which was made clear through my Caius-style scowl, "it's a long story, dude."

I wiped my nose with a tissue and raised an eyebrow at him. "Can you tell it in three days? If so, I'm all ears."

"I assume you've heard of the kings ex wives, Sulpicia and Athenodora?" he clarified.

"Yeah, the ones that moved to Thailand."

"Them," he nodded, "yes, many years ago, after Didyme's death, the queens decided to leave Volterra. They didn't feel there was anything left for them here. At the time, the Masters were still wildly in love with them and cared about them a lot, but they didn't care. They were sick of being with the kings, believing they could do better than them," that sentence on its own made me growl angrily, "so they left."

"What do you mean 'left'? They left? How?"

"One of the previous guards helped them escape. They were on the run for a few days, making it all the way to Cyprus before they were tracked by Demetri."

"Speaking of, where is Demetri? I thought he was the tracker around here yet Rafael came and sniffed us out?" I questioned.

"He's currently dealing with a rogue newborn in Sweden. Now, are you going to listen to the story or what?"

"I'm listening, geez," I groaned.

"Continuing, when the Masters found out they left, they were absolutely heartbroken that their loves had left them in the hopes for someone better. Once they were found, they were brought back to the castle and placed under high security to stop them from ever setting foot outside of these stone walls. That was one of the reasons they were locked in the tower with Corin. When the mate bond between them and the Masters did eventually break, they were let go, which was shortly before you came along actually."

"But true mate bonds are invincible…" I began.

"…yes, yes they are."

"…so will I be kept in the tower? For an eternity?" I instantly started to panic, my heart beating out of my chest.

"Eli, calm down, breathe properly," Santiago reassured. I hadn't even realised I wasn't breathing properly.

"How can you expect me to calm down," I inhaled sharply, "when I'm going to spend the rest of my existence rotting away in some kind of tower?!"

"Eli…"

"I'll never see the light of day again, oh my fucking god I've just kissed every ounce of freedom I had goodbye-"

"ELI!"

I jumped and turned to face him. He seemed absolutely exasperated with me at this point, and I didn't blame him. What the hell was happening to me? I just wanted this all to be over.

"I'm sorry for yelling, dude, but you're acting worse than the Masters. Try to stay sane," he half-heartedly laughed, "they won't lock you away or anything."

I sniffled. "And how would you know that, wise guy?"

"Because, not to sound cheesy, but they love you, and not like how they did their wives. They genuinely adore you, and they have that bond connecting you together. I bet even right now, they're having a complete emotional meltdown because of the stress you're putting yourself through."

"They deserve it for keeping me here like some kind of pet," I hissed.

"No comment," he sighed, "in their defence, they're only doing this because they were worried sick about you."

"And why? I was shopping with Chelsea and Corin, and my shopping bags are just over there," I pointed to the far corner near my laundry basket, "I would never want to run away from them, I can barely stand being away from them for a day, I-I…" I wanted to say I love them, but it didn't feel right in that moment.

"It was a misunderstanding. The other two thought you told someone about your girls trip and vice versa, leaving it to seem like they assisted you in escaping the castle."

"A-are they going to be punished?" I asked worriedly.

Afton sighed heavily but didn't say a word. Of course, it was his mate that was currently being partially blamed for this. Wow, I actually felt awful for him.

"They are currently in the dungeons with Jane. Their punishment is 1 hour of Jane's torture followed by 1 month of only being provided with bottled animal blood," he visibly cringed at the thought.

"That's awful," I stood up and headed for the door, "I've got to talk to the kings-"

Santiago grabbed my arm, not painfully but forcibly, pulling me back over to the edge of my bed. "No you don't, that's a really dumb idea, dude. They're having a crisis as it is, putting you there will only make it worse."

"What do I do? How do I fix this? God, this is all my fault-"

"For one, blaming yourself isn't going to help. We've been over this, it was all a misunderstanding. I'm sure the Masters will come around soon and instantly be at your knees begging for forgiveness."

I scoffed. "Yeah, and how long is that going to take?"

"After the 72 hours is over, just talk to them. Go up to them, say how sorry you are, how this was all a misunderstanding, just say what you told me," he instructed.

"And if that doesn't work?"

"Then you weren't seductive enough when you said it," he chuckled lightly.

"So what you're telling me to do is to seduce them, apologise, and hope everything turns out okay?"

He paused for a second. "Yes. Yes I am."

I flopped backwards onto my bed. "To think that, if I'd just forced Aro to touch my hand, we wouldn't be here right now."

"True, but they'd still be pretty angry nonetheless," Santiago fell back beside me.

"I've never seen Aro that angry before, it was terrifying. It felt like my heart actually stopped beating for a second, and suddenly I was unable to actually talk properly."

"He was angry because he thought you left him. That's why he didn't want to listen to your reasoning, because he didn't want to hear any excuses. They were all upset, and all because Rafael felt the need to stir shit as per usual."

"That man just can't help it," I tried to giggle but it came out pretty pathetic.

Afton suddenly stood to his feet and dashed out of the room, appearing back inside again after a few seconds. "I just checked and your mates are upset, really upset. More so with themselves than with you from the looks of things. Aro almost shattered his grand piano while trying to play a sad piece and he kept whispering the word 'idiot' and cursing himself, Marcus is sitting on his couch emotionlessly staring into the distance like a zombie, and Caius sliced a table in half with his fist before hurling the remnants across his quarters at a painting."

This was my fault, this was all my fault. Now that Afton had mentioned it, I could feel a sad tugging at my heart in three directions, subtly bringing me to tears. The bond was urging me to go to them and to be with them, to support them, but I knew that wasn't an option. What had I done to them? All because I wanted to go on a goddamn shopping trip, I'd broken the people who were the most important to me.

"I want to go to them," I whispered solemnly, "I want to be with them."

"You can't, I'm sorry dude. Only three more days, and we'll be here with you though the whole thing," Santiago reassured me.

"Ugh, you're the best older brothers I never signed up for that I could ever ask for," I hugged him briefly which he clearly hated, "I'm sorry that Chelsea got roped into this, Afton."

"It's not your fault. I feel worse for you, having to listen to your true mates be put through this," he shot an apologetic look.

I sighed a trembled breath. "I just want things back to how they were. I want them back."

**Author's note: I know I'm currently everyone's least favourite person in the world for the last chapter I posted, I'm sorryyyyy. Anyway, there was a reason for the kings to be acting so strangely to this whole thing, and I hope this chapter answered a lot of the questions you had about their reactions. I'm quite enjoying writing in this sibling-style relationship with Santiago and Afton though.  
Anyway, thank you so much for reading, be sure to leave some feedback because I love reading your opinions, stay safe, and ily lots!**


	48. Chapter 48

The next three days were hell, not just that but hell on steroids. From what I'd heard from Santiago and Afton, things were going pretty damn terrible outside of my room. Apparently, the kings were on an absolute rampage, which included several executions without a fair trial and many items of furniture being destroyed. Even the guard were wary of them, and Santiago even spotted Jane ducking away from Caius in the corridor once. I was desperate to leave this confinement and finally fix this mess I'd gotten everyone in to, but that wasn't an option.

To make matters worse, there was a consistent tugging at my heart, and not the good kind like whenever I was closer to one of the kings. No, these tugs felt like they were eating away at me, filled with their self-loathing and regret, which lead to frequent emotional outbursts from me to the point where my eyes were almost permanently red and blotchy.

During my time in my room, Afton was the one who usually brought my meals up from the kitchens, but I'd really lost my appetite. Santiago helped me plan what I would say and who I would talk to in the faint hope that this whole situation could blow over.

Finally the day came, and I was beyond nervous. The plan was to speak to Marcus first, considering he was the least likely to accidentally rip my head off in an angry frenzy. I was stood just down his corridor at the foot of the spiral staircase.

"Deep breaths, you've got this dude," Santiago assured me.

"Just remember; polite, sweet apology, and if that doesn't work out, seduce him," Afton added.

"Aw, the support I'm receiving here," I placed a hand over my heart sarcastically, "touched."

Afton simply winked and nudged me up the stairs. Like Aro's quarters, Marcus' were at the top step of a long spiralled staircase which was so dark I often tripped. Taking in a sharp breath, I knocked on the door lightly three times.

Nothing.

After debating with myself for a few moments, I held my breath and opened the door slowly to find Marcus sat quietly on his sofa. In his hand was some random book and he seemed pretty relaxed, yet he didn't react at all to my presence.

"Marcus?" I tried to get his attention.

Still nothing.

Cautiously, I edged over to his sofa to sit beside him with my left leg curled up underneath me. "Look, I just wanted to apologise for what happened before. I never intended to leave without telling you. In fact, I wasn't leaving you at all, I was just going out shopping with Chelsea and Corin. Anyway, I'm sorry if I worried you, I probably should've told you before leaving."

He didn't react at all, simply turning to the next page in his book. Damn, that was cold, even for Marcus. I placed a hand on his thigh hoping that maybe he'd react to my touch, but still no response.

"You're really going to stay silent?" I raised an eyebrow, "Nothing? Not even a little apology for locking me in my room for three days?"

I flipped over a few pages in his book so that, even if it pissed him off, at least I'd have his attention. But no, he simply flipped it back to the page he was on and continued reading. Then I tried to shove him as hard as possible but, of course, that didn't achieve anything, instead causing a painful tingle to spread through my muscles.

What was it Afton said? Oh yeah, seduce him.

There wasn't much space due to his arm extended out in front of him with his book, but I managed to sit myself so that I was straddled on his lap. Again, he simply didn't acknowledge at all that I was sat there. I even tried trailing kisses along his jaw and grinding my hips into his, but still nothing.

"You know what? Fine," I snapped, instantly standing up straight and dusting myself off, "I came in here to try and make amends hoping we'd come to an agreement but fine, be like that!"

My hands formed tight fists by my sides and I stormed out, but not before turning around to check if maybe he'd reacted to my outburst. _Nope, nothing_. I groaned angrily and slammed the door behind me, the sound reverberating off the walls.

Once I made it back to the bottom of the stairs, Santiago had his arms crossed over his chest while Afton was trying not to chuckle.

"How did it go?" Santiago asked almost tauntingly.

I sighed deeply through my nose. "He's giving me the silent treatment, and damn he's good at it."

"Did you try to seduce him?" Afton laughed.

"I did actually, but absolutely nothing. Not even a faint groan, just nothing," I seethed.

Santiago seemed amused by my failed attempt. "Well, that's Master Marcus crossed off our list, who's next?"

"Blondie," I answered simply and led the party back down the corridor and to Caius' quarters.

"Why do you call him blondie?" Afton questioned.

"He's blonde, and it's an easy nickname for him," I shrugged, "Didn't you say he broke a table the other day?"

"Yes, but the debris has now been taken away and the table's replaced, so you're _Gucci_," he gave me a thumbs up.

I drew my eyebrows together and facepalmed. "Please stop, _sir Afton_, I'm suffering as it is without you acting like a pre-teen girl."

While the other two stood at the other end of the corridor so they were out of sight, I hesitantly tapped my knuckles on the door like I had with Marcus.

Nothing, again.

I sighed and pushed the door open, hoping Caius wasn't going to kill me or anything. There he was, sat at his desk while sorting through paperwork. He didn't react at all to my appearance and continued to work as if nothing happened.

"Um, Caius?" I waved awkwardly.

He picked up a fountain pen and began signing a bunch of documents. I casually strolled over and sat down on the other side of his desk so that I was facing him, yet still no response.

"I apologise if you thought I ran away the other day. I was just out shopping with Chelsea and Corin, but in hindsight I probably should've warned you first. Sorry."

Instead of saying anything, he placed down the pen he was holding and picked up a red fountain pen from his pen pot, continuing through the documents on his desk.

"I was sort of expecting something along the lines of '_it was a simple misunderstanding, Eliana, I apologise too for locking you in your room after a simple shopping trip'_, but I guess that's okay," I mimicked his tone.

He sighed and at first I thought I was actually going to get some kind of reaction, but instead he simply shifted that pile of paper to the side and pulled another pile out from one of his drawers.

"Actually, it's not okay, why the hell aren't you saying anything?" I snapped.

As I still didn't get any response, I decided to move the pen pot to the middle of the desk, but he simply shifted it back without even looking up. Okay, so he was aware that I was there, he was just acting like a dick, fine. I did the same thing again but this time knocked it over. I thought that for sure he would get angry at that, but he managed to put them all back in and place the pot upright again in a matter of seconds. Damn it, where did this patience come from?

Angrily, I stood up and slammed my hands on the desk. "Am I really that hard to talk to?"

He placed the piece of paper he was writing on at the bottom of the stack and continued writing his perfect signature on the pile of documents.

"Fine, this is a waste of time in anyway, I hope you're very happy with yourself, albino bunny!" I narrowed my eyes at him and stormed out, slamming the door even harder than Marcus' behind me.

"Nice one," Afton said deadpan.

"Why are they being like this? If anything, I thought _they_ would be the ones to apologise. I thought they prided themselves on being perfect gentlemen and all that bullshit," I groaned, banging my head against the stone wall.

Santiago shrugged. "No idea, dude, but they are noticing you though, even if it's for a split second."

"Really?" I asked sceptically.

"I glanced in the room when you spoke to both Masters Marcus and Caius. Marcus gazed into your eyes quickly before looking back down again at his book, and Caius flinched slightly and looked at you with adoration in his eyes," Afton explained.

"Then why don't they verbalise that supposed 'adoration' and help a girl out here?" I asked exasperatedly and began leading the way to Aro's quarters.

"They've always prided themselves on follow-through, so they probably planned this silent treatment a few days ago and decided to stick with it."

I halted just as we got to the bottom step of the staircase leading to Aro's quarters. "Aro's probably going to react in exactly the same way, isn't he?"

"I'll sneak in and see for you, but just do the same as you did before. I reckon this whole thing was probably Caius' idea, but Aro seemed the guiltiest about punishing you before, so you might have a better chance with him," Afton said.

"Pray for me," I sighed and started for the door.

Hesitantly, I knocked three times and patiently stood there for a few seconds. Taking the silence as permission to enter, I opened the door cautiously and stepped into his quarters. Apparently, Aro was sorting through his wardrobe and reorganising the endless supply of shirts, dress pants, Italian leather shoes, and suits he owned.

"Aro?" I pursed my lips and tilted my head to the side, "what _are_ you doing?"

He didn't respond but instead picked up a pile of identical dark grey button up shirts and placed it down on his bed. I stood leaning against the doors to his wardrobe and crossed my arms over my chest.

"I'd really prefer not to repeat the same speech I've already told the other two, _soooo_…"

I reached over to him before he could back away and placed my hand on his. Rather than encasing my hand in his, he paused for a second and his eyes glazed over as usual while he skimmed through my thoughts. Once he snapped out of my head, it looked as if he flinched for a second but he quickly continued as if nothing had happened and pulled out an outfit from his wardrobe that looked like it was from the 1800s.

"That's it? You're really not going to say anything to that?" I raised an eyebrow, "You're just going to ignore the fact that it hurts me physically every time one of you get angry or ice me out like I'm nothing to you? You've now seen that I didn't mean to worry you and that this whole thing was a miscommunication, so why are you being like this? You didn't even give me a chance to explain everything before locking me away like some kind of household pet, so some form of apology would be nice, you psychopath!"

Still nothing, not a single reaction to my rant. He frowned at the 1800s outfit in his hand and placed it right at the back of his wardrobe before pulling out an even older, medieval-style outfit, this one looking like it was from the 1000s. While he was putting it back, I for some reason decided to hug him, wrapping my arms around his torso from behind with the side of my face pressed against his cool back. Of course, he seemed to completely ignore the gesture and continued working through all of his historical garments he'd worn over the centuries.

"Well, at least I tried to talk rather than immaturely staying silent, have fun sorting out your boring ass wardrobe alone, Aro," I spat his name with a huff and stormed out of his quarters while stamping my feet for effect, ensuring I slammed the door loudly behind me so he got the bloody message. Why the fuck were they all acting like utter twats?

Coming back down the spiral staircase, Santiago and Afton were standing exactly where I left them, slightly unimpressed.

I glanced at them blankly. "What? I tried, but the man's stubborn as fuck," I shrugged.

Santiago sighed. "This could be more difficult than we first thought."

"On the plus side, when you hugged Master Aro, he did seem contented for a split second, but it was too fast for the human eye to see," Afton informed me, "and he did watch on guiltily as you left him."

I groaned and laid down on the cold stone floor of the corridor on my back dramatically with my legs and arms spread like a starfish. "Why are they doing this to me? Can't they see I'm trying to be the better person here? Is it so hard just to suck it up and admit they're wrong?"

"They're your true mates, dude, they can't ignore you for that long before snapping," Santiago tried to be optimistic.

I rolled my eyes. "How long then, _Tina_?"

He looked down at me unimpressed. "Dude, do you want my help or not?"

I paused. "Yes," I sighed.

"Good," he smiled, "maybe a few days, but I'm just guessing. They already look like they're at breaking point."

"I just want this to be over," I whined like a baby and log rolled back down the corridor, closely followed by the other two as we reluctantly headed back to the guard's quarters.

**Author's note: I know I know you all hate me right now because I'm only making things worse for them and their relationship, feel free to roast me in the comments aha. Don't worry though, I don't plan to drag this on for too much longer hehe.  
Honestly, when I planned out this part of the plot, I didn't stop to think how serious this whole thing actually is and how asshole-y the kings are acting. I know this all seems a little out-of-character, but I wanted this whole reaction to be kinda out of previous experience and also I feel like the plot so far has been maybe a little too positive so I wanted to throw a spanner into the works and make hell for my characters ha.  
We're nearing the end of this story though, which is really exciting actually because I can't wait to properly announce the sequel which will be coming soon-ish!  
Anyway, thank you so much for reading, be sure to leave some feedback because I love hearing your opinions, stay safe, and ily lots!**


	49. Chapter 49

Their pathetic, unnecessary silent-treatment went on for a few days, a few horrendous days. On the plus side, Chelsea and Corin's punishment had been removed which the pair was very thankful for, so maybe I was getting somewhere.

I spent every day trying to get their attention, but literally nothing worked. At first, I just continued pestering them, then I progressed to playing 'My Neck, My Back' on repeat to Caius but he just walked away, and I even tried very hard to seduce them, but it was as if I genuinely wasn't there. Why they were acting like a bunch of losers and man-babies, I didn't know, but I was seriously getting desperate. I didn't even know what they were trying to achieve at this point. An apology from me? Already given, several times. Me in pain? Continuously, literally every time they rejected me.

It got to the point where I started questioning why I was even trying. Did they love me? What if this whole true mate stuff was just made-up bullshit? If they really cared about me in the slightest, why were they treating me like I meant nothing to the world? Maybe they just got bored of their previous wives and wanted someone new to take their place, maybe they truly didn't give a fuck about me. Now I really did want to leave them, I mean, I could've probably gotten Santiago or whoever to help me sneak out, I could move in with the Cullens or the Denalis or something…

I stood up from my bed. "I'm going."

"You're what?" Afton peered over his book at me.

"If I don't get a reaction from them this time, I'm leaving this hell hole, tomorrow," I announced.

He stood up panicked. "Eli, no, you can't do this, what about-"

"About what? What's left for me here? I have supposed true mates who have too much self-pride to admit they're dicks, and the guard who quite frankly can't help me now. I have nothing left to lose," I shrugged.

"Come on," he pleaded, "this thing will blow over, and-"

"Will it though? Will it? Because I've been promised that for a week now, and look where we are," I let out a manic laugh and gestured around me wildly, "I'm sitting depressed in a dark, cold castle in Italy, while I could be thriving with the Cullens or Denalis or whoever, I don't care to be honest!"

"Please, just think this through, you'd really leave?" he raised an eyebrow.

I paused. "Yes, I'm sick of this bullshit, and I have plenty of places I could go. Why should I stay here if I'm being treated like I'm worthless? There's a whole world out there, Afton."

He sighed. "I'll support you in this, El, and I'm sure the rest of the guard will too, but only if you are absolutely certain that is what you want to do. You truly want to leave Volterra behind and join a different coven, or alternatively start a completely normal human life?"

I inhaled sharply. "Yes, yes I do. First, I want to give them one more chance, though. If this goes south, I'm packing a bag."

With that, I mustered up all the confidence I could gather and strode out of my room. I assumed they'd probably be in their quarters or something, but when I walked past Aro's office, I heard their voices echoing through the corridor. Ugh, I'd missed the sound their perfect, angel-like voices. _No, stop thinking like that, you're leaving, remember?_

I couldn't hear what they were talking about at all due to the door being closed, but it seemed like a pretty heated discussion, so heated that even Marcus was getting involved which was a rarity. They suddenly stopped talking for some reason. _Damn it, stupid heartbeat, why did I have to be so alive?_

Now that they knew I was there, I took a deep breath and pushed the door open, strolling over and sitting myself down on the sofa beside Marcus. They all stayed in absolute silence and ensured their gazes were aimed anywhere but at me. Way to make things awkward.

I sighed, already trembling slightly. "I've already apologised for leaving temporarily time and time again, and nothing. Not a peep, not even a glance, not any recognition of my existence. I'm sorry okay? I don't know what else you want from me. You now have several apologies from me, and I'm in pain from bond rejection every minute of the day, mission accomplished. Look, please, just…" I breathed in sharply as a hot tear ran down my face, "you clearly hate me, detest me at this point, you wish I wasn't your mate, but p-please just say it to my face."

Still nothing, not a word. Taking the message as the tears now poured down my face, I briskly left the room and slammed the door behind me, running at full speed back to my room. Once I got back inside with the door closed, I hurled myself onto my bed and let the tears fall, interrupted with the occasional sob.

Afton worriedly sat himself on the edge of my bed with a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry, El, I really am. I'll be down with the rest of the guard in the guard's quarters if you need me."

I nodded as he quietly left the room and closed the door softly behind him. Enjoying the blissful silence, I buried myself under the many blankets and covers on my bed and allowed the endlessly flowing tears to soak the pillow underneath me. They hated me, god they hated me. Of course they did, I was stupid to ever believe they would love someone as weak, naïve and stupid as me. Feeling overwhelming amounts of self-pity, I curled up into a tight ball and nuzzled myself further into my bed, feeling alone, so goddamn alone.

I must've been crying for hours and the pillow underneath me was thoroughly soaked in my tears. My eyelids were just beginning to droop as a cold hand placed itself on my shoulder from over the covers.

"We will never hate you, _cara mia_, quite the opposite."

I didn't need to look up to know that it was Aro. The bed dipped on either side as Caius and Marcus both curled up beside me. Oh, so _now_ they wanted to talk? I refused to make eye contact with them and stared down at one of the light coloured pillows surrounding my head.

Caius pulled the blanket back from my face slightly so he could press his lips to my forehead. "Please talk to us, _carissima_."

I didn't respond, instead curling up tighter away from them with my knees drawn to my chest. Marcus wrapped his arms around my waist and pressed himself into my back snugly. They really had the nerve to ignore me for days and then expect me to talk to them as if nothing happened?

Hesitant of his actions for the first time ever, Aro placed his hand on the side of my face while the rest of my skin was hidden under the many blankets and pillows covering me. Pulling away, he shot me the most remorseful expression I could ever imagine seeing and leant over me, holding my body as close to his as he could. Caius and Marcus both shuffled back slightly confused as Aro tugged me out from under the covers in one swift move and placed me down on his lap while I was still wrapped warmly in a fluffy grey throw blanket.

"I am so incredibly sorry, _cara mia_, I'll always love you, I am so sorry, please forgive me," he whispered repeatedly as he cradled me in his arms delicately, almost as if he was afraid to scare me off. Now _that_ was the response I'd been waiting days for, _phew_ finally!

"Aro?" Marcus questioned and placed his hand on my leg.

I vaguely listened as Aro spoke hurriedly in what sounded like Greek. Between every few sentences, his grip on me would tighten slightly or he would press his lips softly to my forehead and run his fingers soothingly through my hair. From the sounds of things, he was explaining to them how much I thought they hated me and how I was going to leave Italy for good, and I even heard the Cullens and the Denalis mentioned.

Once his explanation was over, I felt myself being lifted up and placed down in Caius' lap as he held my head to his chest and nuzzled into my hair. Unlike Aro, Caius was a man action rather than words which was made clear by the fact that he didn't seem to verbally apologise but instead held me as closely to him as he could without hurting me and refused to let go. I still wasn't in the mood to talk about it, what with the unnecessary emotional hell they'd just put me through after a simple shopping trip.

Marcus pulled me over from Caius' lap onto his and surrounded his arms around me tightly. "I am so sorry, _tesoro_, please forgive me, forgive us, I love you so much."

"Please say something, _carissima_," Caius murmured, pressing his cold nose into the soft skin of my neck.

I sighed a quivered breath. "Why should I? You refused to say a single word for over a week."

Aro cupped my cheek with his hand and ran the pad of his thumb across my cheekbone. "We feel terrible about punishing you, truly. In that moment, when we assumed you'd left, something completely overtook our actions. The thought of you leaving us…we are incomplete without you, _cara mia_."

"What, so you lock me in my room for three days and refuse to talk to me?!" I snapped before taking a deep breath to calm myself and gazing down at my lap, "Damn it, do you have any idea what your unjustified punishment did to me? I thought you hated me, I was going to leave permanently this time. You seriously, even for a second, thought it was okay to lock me in my room for going on a shopping trip? I'm not a child, and I don't need and will not tolerate being scolded and punished for bad behaviour like one. You're not my parents, nor am I your property, nor am I below you, you're my mates, so prove it and treat me as an equal. I don't give a crap about who is dominant in this relationship, but it doesn't give you permission to push me around like some kind of item you own. I'm a grown adult, I can make my own decisions and go wherever I goddamn please, and I don't need you punishing me like a small child for spending a few hours outside of this castle. I'd never do the same to you, so don't do it to me.

"And even after all of that, when I tried to make amends, I tried to apologise for worrying you about leaving like the nice, _sensible_ person I am, and you ignore me? Geez, you were the ones who locked me in here in the first place without giving me any chance to explain myself, which was a dick move, may I add, and then you give me the silent treatment like I was the one who messed up? Thanks to your immature bullshit actions, I spent days dealing with the affects of bond rejection, my eyes are so red and blotchy from hours of crying that I don't think they'll ever recover. And you really expect me to forgive you? Just like that? To move on as if nothing happened?"

Marcus tightened his hold around my waist and softly kissed my hairline. "We do not deserve your forgiveness for any of our foolish actions, _tesoro_. All week, I longed to have you in my arms again, I watched the bond dim on your side while I longed to hear your angelic laugh, to inhale your perfect scent."

"And that could've happened sooner if you would've just said something," I retorted.

Caius quickly tugged me onto his lap and cradled me gently in his arms. "I promise, I swear on my life, nothing like this will ever happen again, _carissima_. We were fools to treat you so disrespectfully in that way," he kissed my cheek carefully, "I love you, Eliana."

I nodded dismissively in response rather than the usual 'I love you too'. I wanted to be able to forgive them, I did, but the way they fucked up really didn't make things easy for me. It was going to take them some time to earn back my trust, and I definitely wasn't planning on making life too easy for them for the next month or so.

"On another note, you should have seen Aro's mood swings all week," Marcus chuckled.

"I did not have 'mood swings' thank you very much," Aro snarled.

"Aro, you were sat at your grand piano brooding for hours. You almost turned into Edward Cullen for a moment," Caius quipped, his lips curing up into a smile.

"_Cara mia_, ignore these two, I was not brooding. I was simply…deep in thought."

I cocked my head to the side. "Isn't that the definition of brooding?"

He paused. "I don't think so," he said hesitantly.

Marcus quickly dashed in a blur out of the room, returning with a large dictionary in hand as he eagerly flipped through the pages. And to think they originally came in here to apologise to me, huh, typical boys, so easily sidetracked.

"Aha," he pointed to one of the old, creased pages, "the dictionary definition is '_engaged in or showing deep thought about something that makes one sad, angry, or worried_'."

"I told you!" I taunted and pointed a finger at him.

"Regardless, I was not brooding," Aro assured.

"Mhm," I crossed my arms over my chest and raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"I wasn't," he insisted.

"I said 'mhm'," I reminded him.

"No, no, that was a sarcastic 'mhm'."

"Fine, I'll make it more genuine," I took a deep breath, "of course, _Aro of the Volturi_, you were not brooding despite you defining the word brooding to me just a second ago, oh no, you were simply 'deep in thought'," I nodded exaggeratedly and held my hands together, mimicking his usual actions.

He seemed like he wanted to snap back with something but knew that he was already on my bad side, so wisely decided to keep his mouth shut. The corners of my lips turned up into a subtle smile; eh, I had these idiots wrapped around my finger. This was going to be a fun few weeks of them sucking up to me.

**Author's note: I didn't want Eli to forgive them instantly, and she doesn't even in this chapter, because let's be honest; the kings fucked up. I definitely feel like this was a learning curve for them all to be honest, and I know this whole section of the plot annoyed a lot of you but I'm sorryyyy. I basically wanted Eli to learn from this how to stick up for herself and that she's not some kind of pushover but instead an independent woman of the 21****st**** century, and I hope this chapter did some justice here.  
Anyway, next chapter will be the final one of the story UGH but it's fine, it'll be a fun chapter I promise (way more fun than these last few in anyway). Thank you so much for reading, be sure to leave some feedback because it's that that's been motivating me to even finish this story aha, thank you for sticking with me through this, stay safe, and ily lots!**


	50. Chapter 50

_Three and a half weeks later…_

Once my eyelids finally opened the next morning, I practically leapt out of my bed and skidded across the floor on my socks over to my phone. With an excited grin on my face, I opened up my phone to check the date; _Monday 7 August_.

I let out a high pitched squeal and jumped up and down on the spot just as Chelsea walked in. As soon as we made eye contact, she pulled me into one of her regular suffocating hugs.

"Happy birthday Eli!" she yelled enthusiastically.

"Thanks Chelsea," I wheezed, "I'm still the youngest person in the building though."

"That could go on for a while, get used to it," she laughed.

Caius suddenly burst into the room, definitely unimpressed with Chelsea. I shot him a glare before he had the chance to say a word and gave Chelsea another light squeeze.

"I'll catch you later," I waved as she edged uncomfortably out of the room, clearly feeling a little on-edge with Caius around. I turned to the blonde who was stood before me, "Do you have to be so imposing all the time?"

He smirked. "I came here to wish you a happy birthday, but if you would rather I leave, I can-"

"Nope," I cut him off and surrounded my arms around his torso.

"Happy birthday, _carissima_," he held me close to him and pressed his lips to the top of my head.

"Caius, please do not monopolize _our_ mate on her birthday," Marcus shook his head disapprovingly with a chuckle.

"I was not monopolizing her, Marcus," he snapped.

"You beat us here!"

"It is not my fault you are too slow!"

I sighed as they continued to bicker like children and went into the bathroom to change, locking the door behind me. _Some things will never change_. The outfit I'd chosen was a white t-shirt tucked into a pair of denim shorts with my hair tied up into a high ponytail. Once I came back out, the three of them were settled down again although Aro looked like he wanted to jump at Caius' throat at the next given opportunity.

"You look wonderful, _cara mia_," Aro smiled and pulled me into his arms before unexpectedly pushing me back onto my bed so that he was hovering over me.

I let out a startled yelp. "Geez, you scared me you crazy vampire!"

He simply laughed and pressed an open-mouth kiss to my neck, and I only just managed to nudge that little leech off of me. "Save that thought for later, babe," I ran my hands through his raven black hair and breathed heavily as he helped me back up to my feet.

"Happy birthday, _tesoro_," Marcus surrounded his arms around my torso and lifted me up, spinning me around on the spot before placing me back down again.

"Thanks Marcus," I kissed him softly, "so what's the plan for today?"

"We planned to spend the day with you, _carissima_, and the weather is nice today," Caius took my hand and led me out of the room without warning, closely followed by Aro and Marcus.

The short walk through the corridors of the castle ended up taking maybe triple the amount of time than usual to due to me constantly stopping to embrace and gossip with the guards. I could tell it was beginning to piss off Caius as he began subtly steering us away from corridors occupied with people in the hope that I hadn't noticed.

Once we got outside, the four of us settled down on the grass under the usual oak tree. I leant against Marcus' chest with my legs across Aro's lap while Caius sat comfortably beside me with his ankles crossed.

"Birthdays are such wonderful occasions," Aro exclaimed, clapping his hands together gleefully.

"For someone who loves birthdays, it's weird that you don't actually celebrate any," I giggled, "Surely you have a birthday?"

"It is difficult to tell when any of us were born due to calendar systems, _carissima_, but I do believe I was born sometime in the winter months," Caius shrugged.

"That's really depressing, so you don't know what year you were born," they nodded in unison, "you don't know what day you were born on," they nodded again, "and you don't celebrate your birthday?"

"That would be thousands of birthdays, _tesoro_," Marcus reminded me.

"Geez, I need to throw you a birthday party at some point, like, a big one."

Caius stared at me wide-eyed. "No."

I gasped. "Yes, and we can invite the Cullens! I'm sure Carlisle and his lot would be happy to come, and Alice can help plan it!" I clapped excitedly.

"I said no."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Remember whose birthday it is, blondie? I'll throw whatever party I want, thanks. If you don't want to come, by all means you can miss your own birthday party. Ooh, and we can buy three thousand candles!"

Marcus laughed, absent-mindedly twirling a strand of my hair around his finger. "How would you fit that on a cake?"

"It'll have to be a big ass cake then," I shrugged.

"A big ass cake?" Aro asked.

"Yeah, obviously you can't have a party without cake. Don't worry, I'll eat it all for you, you can enjoy the taste of birthday humans instead, just give the humans party hats before sucking their blood," I was getting way too excited at the prospect of an ancient vampire birthday party, "and we can have balloons!"

"Correct me if I am wrong, _cara mia_, but don't you have a fear of balloons popping?" Aro teased.

I paused. "Not fear per se, they just startle me. It's like how I don't have a fear of you three creeping up on me 24/7, but it just scares the hell out of me."

"That is good, because there are balloons over there," Aro pointed to the patio where a pack of deflated balloons sat on the table.

Demetri and Felix quickly appeared in front of us, carrying a large stack of wrapped birthday presents each. They both placed them down gently in front of me, and my eyes grew wide in shock. People actually got me presents?

"Happy birthday, Eli," Demetri bowed politely and disappeared again.

"Thanks Demetri!" I called after him.

Felix pulled a handkerchief out from the pocket of his cloak and pretended to dab his eyes like the dork he is. "They grow up so fast, happy birthday little human!"

"Actually, I'm an adult now, legally," I reminded him.

"Child human, adult human, same thing, they all taste the same," he waved me off jokingly and dashed away to rejoin Demetri.

That just left me, my mates, and a pile of wrapped birthday presents. "Wow," I managed to get out after a moment.

"Before you open any of those," Aro reached in to his pocket, pulled out a small white box and handed it to me, "this gift is from all three of us."

"Aw, you didn't have to get me anything," I blushed timidly as I opened the lid hesitantly, half expecting something to jump out at me.

Inside was a Volturi crest with the signature V shape. On the crest were three gemstones; a sapphire, an amethyst, and an emerald, the same gemstones each of them had on theirs. I gasped as I lifted it out of the box and smoothed my thumb across the intricate design printed into the cool metal.

"It seemed a fitting gift seeing as you are now acting Queen of the Volturi," Caius smiled smugly at my breathless expression while Marcus took the crest from my hand and fastened the chain around my neck.

"Queen? I don't know about that," I glanced down at my lap.

"You will make an excellent queen, _tesoro_," Marcus assured, wrapping an arm comfortingly around my waist.

Aro reached over to the pile of presents and pulled off a small wrapped box from the top. "This one is from me," he smiled proudly as he handed it to me.

"Damn it, you're spoiling me," I giggled as I unwrapped it and playfully tossed the dark crimson wrapping paper at Aro.

The small black jewellery box contained a sterling silver pearl bracelet which looked like it cost more than I wanted to think about. I took it out of the box while my mouth formed an 'O', and Aro chuckled before fastening it around my wrist with ease.

He pressed a soft kiss to my nose. "Happy birthday, _bellissima_."

"This is gorgeous, thank you," I grinned, briefly wrapping my arms around him in a hug.

Marcus quickly pulled off a larger wrapped box from the pile and laughed tauntingly at Caius. "Too slow, brother," he chuckled at Caius' defeated expression as he placed the box down on my lap, "happy birthday, Eliana."

I squeezed his hand which was wrapped around my waist and quickly unwrapped the present, proceeding to toss the wrapping paper at him similarly to how I did at Aro. Underneath was in fact the box for a silver HP Chromebook laptop. Geez, why were they all so goddamn wealthy?

I gasped in shock. "You didn't."

I quickly lifted the lid of the box and inside was the brand new, unbelievably expensive laptop. Marcus seemed amused by my reaction and gently kissed my neck. "I did."

"Oh my word, these presents are too expensive, you are actually insane, thank you," I smiled and spun around slightly so I could wrap my arms around his shoulders.

He held me close to him. "You are most welcome, _il mio amore_."

Caius seemed glad that it was finally his turn as he began to hand me a slightly smaller wrapped box. "Happy birthday, _carissima_."

"Aw, tha- _holy shit, that's a bee_!" I panicked and curled tightly into Marcus.

"Not this again," Marcus sighed.

He pulled me closer to him as the buzzing sound continued to surround me. I clung onto him for dear life, whimpering slightly when I heard the buzz closest to my ear. Irritatingly, I could faintly hear both Aro and Caius' clear amusement at my fear. Once I was sure it was gone, I sat up straight again and took a deep breath.

"As I was saying- _holy moly it's still there_!"

I darted over to Aro and hurled myself into his arms as he held me to him reassuringly. "Just stay still, _cara mia_, and it will fly away."

"Or consume you," Marcus added unnecessarily.

"But it's a _bee_!" I panicked, my voice muffled by his chest.

"I am able to identify a bee when I see one, Eliana, I am old but not senile. Look, it is gone," he patted me lightly on my back and sat me up straight on his lap.

Caius shuffled over and handed me the gift from him properly this time. "From me to you."

I grinned awkwardly and tore of the gold wrapping paper with ease, scrunching it up into a ball and hurling it at Caius. He barely flinched when he caught it with one hand and flung it at Marcus so fast that all I could see was a blur. The painful-looking hit in the face left Marcus with a tiny crack on his cheek which seemed to heal in a matter of seconds, though he was still fuming.

Turning my attention back to the gift, in front of me was a brand new iPhone. I gasped in surprise, and lifted it out of its box. "This is too much, geez, thank you," my eyes were still wide with shock as I pulled Caius into a tight embrace while still sat on Aro's lap.

"My pleasure, _carissima_," he smiled proudly and ran a hand through my hair.

"The remainder of these gifts are from the Cullens, and I do believe there is one from the guard as well," Aro gestured to the pile.

I laughed surprisedly. "The Cullens got me gifts? I didn't think they'd remember."

"They are immortal," Marcus shrugged as I took the first gift from the top of the pile.

In my hand was an envelope with my name written on it in Bella's sad attempt at neat handwriting. Inside was a card that read;

_Dear Eli,  
I know no one bothers with cards usually, but it wouldn't be a birthday without a card. Happy 18__th__ birthday, I hope you have an amazing day! I hope you do like the gift I got you and it isn't too lame, and I can't wait to see you again at the wedding!  
Love you lots,  
Bella._

Looking back inside the envelope, I pulled out the friendship bracelet she'd made me when we were little. I remember she'd managed to take care of hers but I'd lost mine in her back garden, but apparently she found it again.

"…um?" Caius cocked his head to the side at the sight of a thin elastic band with rainbow coloured plastic beads.

"We made friendship bracelets for each other when we were little, I lost mine but looks like she found it again," I giggled as I slid it on my wrist beside the expensive bracelet Aro had gifted me.

Opening up the next gift, Edward had gotten me a stack of random CDs mostly containing classical music, with a tag that read '_educate yourself with real music for once. Edward (your favourite Cullen)'_. Brutal for someone who drives around listening to Debussy all day and mopes at the piano.

I next opened the gift Alice and Jasper had both gotten me together. Inside was a pair of black lace up boots with chunky soles, which were very Volturi-ish in fairness. Worryingly, there was also a bottle of neon pink hair dye with a tag; '_see if Caius wants to borrow some too, sharing is caring_'. Caius of course over-reacted to this in true albino bunny fashion and growled angrily at the gift when I handed it over to him.

"They dare mock me-"

"Babe, it's a joke," I giggled, placing a hand on his knee.

"Alice has a good sense of humour," Aro mused light-heartedly.

Rose and Emmett had gotten me a giant Mario Kart mushroom plush which, once I unwrapped it, expanded to be absolutely massive, to the point where I was almost drowning underneath it.

Marcus easily ripped off the tag attached to it and read the label. "80cm wide, apparently."

"It's so PLUSHY!" I squealed, squeezing it as tightly as possible.

"Oh my," Aro sighed.

I rolled through the grass with it in my arms. "You've been replaced, ha!"

Caius simply pulled the plush away from me and threw it over to Aro before pulling me into his arms, lying down on the grass beside me. Of course, only Caius would get jealous of a plush toy. "No one replaces me."

"Is that so?" I teased.

He pressed a kiss to the top of my head and nuzzled into my hair. "No one," he murmured.

Carlisle and Esme were kind enough to buy me tickets to a Rihanna concert in Italy for next year. I squealed excitedly, damn I was such a fan girl.

"Who is Rihanna?" Marcus questioned.

Aro proceeded to sing a line from 'Pon de Replay', and he had a surprisingly nice singing voice. "No?" he glanced at both Marcus' and Caius' blank expressions, "well okay then."

"Do you want to come?" I asked Aro with a giggle.

"I am not a fan of concerts, _cara mia_, but I am sure some of the guard members would love to accompany you. I have heard the twins quite enjoy listening to Rihanna."

The final gift from the pile of gifts I didn't at all deserve was a skateboard from the guard, after I'd mentioned a few weeks ago that I'd always wanted to learn how to skate and become an edgy skating teen.

"A skateboard?" Marcus studied it confusedly.

"I've always wanted to be cool," I giggled, "and skating is how I'll do it."

"Do you know how to skate?" Caius raised an eyebrow.

"No, but that's the whole point in _learning_," I shook my head with a condescending laugh.

* * *

Marcus analysed the scene of me standing beside the skateboard. "This already looks dangerous."

"What? I'm totally careful," I defended.

"You are?" Aro raised a sceptical eyebrow.

"Yes thank you, I am," I nodded in confirmation.

"Okay then, it doesn't look too hard, just push off with your left foot and stand on the board, easy," Caius instructed.

I took in a deep breath and attempted to but jumped off with a yelp before I fell, causing me to land in Aro's arms. "'_It doesn't look too hard'_, he says, '_just push off with your left foot and stand on the board_', he says," I mimicked him.

Caius crossed his arms over his chest. "Do you require my assistance or not?"

I sighed. "Yes."

I tried again and got a little closer this time before I almost fell backwards with a light scream.

"I've got you."

Marcus managed to swoop in to catch me before I fell and rolled back onto the ground with me in his arms. The board continued to roll down the path on its own and stopped at the bottom of the hill. Within an instant, Aro had zoomed down and picked up the skateboard, returning it to me with a smile and helping us both to our feet.

"Damn it, why is this so hard?" I stamped my foot down on the ground.

"It cannot be that difficult, surely," Caius chuckled.

"Fine, you try it then," I thrusted the board to him and he set it down on the ground by his feet.

Annoyingly enough, he was good at it. Very good at it. He managed to skate flawlessly down the path and stopped at the end before turning around to skate back.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Not difficult at all, you try," he offered Marcus.

Now this I was certain was going to end badly. But no, Marcus managed to skate absolutely perfectly, even doing a 360° spin on the board to show off. Aro was the same, not a single slip up or mistake.

Once he got off again, I groaned and buried my head in Marcus' shoulder. "Why are you so good at everything?"

"Experience," Marcus chuckled, "and immortality."

* * *

We were gathered back under the tree comfortably after that dangerous skating session. Despite my mates catching me from most falls, I'd managed to trip over regardless, causing me to graze my knee on the pavement, so now I had a plaster on my leg like some kind of accident-prone child.

"If it makes you feel any better, you were marginally better at skating by the end," Aro smiled, running a hand through my hair as I laid down with my head on his lap.

Caius kissed my injured knee and curled up beside me with his head rested on my shoulder as he gazed into my eyes. "Maybe learning to skateboard is not such a good idea."

"Give me a break, I tried," I giggled.

Marcus laid himself down on my other side, staring up at the clouds with his hands placed over his torso. "You did, you did."

"Some day, I will miss your constant clumsiness. Some day, you will be so coordinated that you will never need me to catch you before you fall to the ground on your face," Aro mused.

I hummed in agreement, tracing my finger along the markings on my Volturi crest. "Some day, maybe," I shrugged, "but we still have today."

_THE END_

**Author's note: That's it, the end :( I know I didn't really dwell on Eli getting payback on the kings, but I thought I'd skip over to where things get better again. Also, many people are asking about Rafael, but I guess you'll just have to wait and see hehe.  
Damn it, I think I'm gonna cry ugh. Writing this story has been such an incredible experience and I've learned so much. I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who stuck through this story with me, it's been a mess at times but without you guys leaving comments to keep me going, I probably wouldn't be here.  
Anyway, before I leave, I might as well announce the sequel here. I plan to start it very soon, and the title is '**_**Euphoria**_**'! Things get pretty damn interesting in this, and I am so much looking forward for you to see what I have in store for Eli, yay!  
Anyway, thank you so much for reading and sticking with me through this rollercoaster, it's been so much fun, and I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Be sure to leave some feedback, stay safe, and ily lots!**


	51. Epilogue

Two dark figures stood shrouded in the shadows of the darkened room while the moon provided the sole source of light. Their only feature that stood out in the dim lighting were their piercing red eyes.

"So the rumours are true, the girl has been found."

"This could be our chance, _frate_, we have waited for this moment."

"The fools have left her in human form, how thoughtless of them."

"We will have them at our knees."

A third darkened figure appeared crouched at the shattered remains of the window. "My Lords," they bowed.

"Did you complete your task, young one?" one of the pair spoke.

"Yes, my Lords, I come with information."

"Do tell."

"The human girl, her location for the next several days will be Denali, Alaska. She will go alone," they informed them.

"Perfect. You have done well, young one. We will meet her there."

"_Curvă mică italiană_ is no match for us. We will emerge victorious!"

* * *

**Author's note: Let's play a fun game of 'guess who's a rat'  
Translations:  
Frate - Brother  
Curvă mică italiană - Little Italian whore**


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